Kyle Jamieson fined 15% match fee for breach of conduct over controversial ‘catch’
New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson has been fined 15% of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.
The incident happened during the second one-day international against Bangladesh in Christchurch on Tuesday when Kyle Jamieson showed dissent at the umpire's decision.
The New Zealand pacer claimed a low catch of Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal during the game. The dismissal was subsequently referred to the third umpire, who overruled the soft signal of ‘out.’ Kyle Jamieson, however, reacted angrily to the TV umpire’s decision.
For his action, the 26-year-old was found to have breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which concerns 'showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match,' according to an ICC release.
Kyle Jamieson admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Match Referee Jeff Crowe. That meant there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Chris Brown, third umpire Wayne Knights, and fourth official Ash Mehrotra had levelled the charge.
In addition to his offence, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of Kyle Jamieson. The bowler has now accumulated two demerit points in a 24-month period, as stated in the release.
Level 1 of the Code of Conduct breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee and one or two demerit points.
Kyle Jamieson was previously reprimanded during the Test match against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui. He had thrown the ball in Faheem Ashraf’s direction even as the batsman was away from the stumps and didn't intend to take a run.
Did Kyle Jamieson catch the ball cleanly?
During the 15th over of Bangladesh’s innings, the visiting captain Tamim Iqbal uppishly drove a full delivery back to Kyle Jamieson. In his follow-through, the tall bowler went low to his left and 'held' a low catch.
The decision was referred to the third umpire, with an accompanying soft signal of 'out.' However, after watching several replays, the third umpire overturned the on-field decision.
The third umpire concluded that after Kyle Jamieson hit the ground, he wasn't in full control of the ball. After zooming in, the TV umpire found that the ball had touched the ground, so he ruled Iqbal not out.
As per the ICC rule book, section 33.3 states:
"The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder's person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement."
Despite the contentious moment, New Zealand won the match by five wickets as they chased down 272. Stand-in captain Tom Latham scored an unbeaten century.
New Zealand and Bangladesh play the third game of the series in Wellington on Friday, where the hosts will look to complete a clean sweep. They had won the first ODI by eight wickets.