Broad fined for hitting batsman
Stuart Broad was involved in another controversy on the third day of the second Test match between England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 when he threw the ball back at the batsman, Zulqarnain Haider, and in the process hit him.
Broad was charged by the match referee, Ranjan Madugalle for this on-field indiscretion and was fined 50 per cent of his match fee. The incident happened when the pair of Haider and Mohammad Amir was at the crease, and thwarting the English bowlers with some gritty batting. Broad was the bowler, and Haider drove the ball back at the bowler, which Broad fielded and threw it back. The ball hit Haider on his hand, and the bowler half-apologised before walking away from the scene.
The pair went on to add 52 runs for the seventh wicket.
Pakistani captain Salman Butt was critical of the incident in the press conference. He said that cricket was a gentleman’s sport, and such incidents should be avoided. Butt also said that the English side had got frustrated with the Pakistani fight-back. Butt also pointed out that Broad had not apologised to the batsman properly.
It was not as if Butt was alone in terming England as ‘frustrated’. England’s champion bowler in the game, Graeme Swann, also accepted that the English bowlers had begun to grow frustrated with the fact that they couldn’t get an innings win. However, he defended his team-mate Broad, and said that it was an unfortunate and an unintentional incident.
Swann said, "Knowing Broady as I do, he certainly didn't have any malice behind it - and he can't throw the ball hard enough to hurt anyone anyway."
Broad has had a history of throwing tantrums on the cricket field, and the basic grouse that critics have had against him is that he is not penalised very often. He has been accused of stepping on the cricket ball on one occasion, and had once barged into the match-referee’s room to seek explanation on a delayed request for the use of UDRS against Broad by the South Africans.
Broad’s father Chris is on the panel of ICC match referees and former cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar have accused the ICC of favouritism.
Tags: