4 instances when Australians were fined for overboard celebration

Australian Captain Steve Smith has been shaking his head in disapproval at Virat Kohli for celebrating his wicket with gusto. Captain Smith is of the opinion that sledging is fine during the course of the game, but celebrating a wicket like that is just not done. Going by Captain Smith's words, the Australian team would never celebrate a wicket in a raucous or offensive manner. They would not be caught dead taunting the batsman after taking a wicket. They are quite above board when it comes to gracefully claiming a wicket. Except perhaps in certain instances, only a few of which are about to be recounted. One can see here that there have been times, innumerable times in fact, that Australian players did the exact opposite of the standard Captain Smith is talking about.Here is a look at 5 such instances:

#1 Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc yelling at Murali Vijay

Mitchell Starc let loose a primal yell after taking Murali Vijay's wicket. The yell would not be out of place in a gladiatorial environment, but in what remains of the gentleman's game that sort of conduct is asking for a fine.

The Umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough, third umpire Simon Fry and fourth umpire Gerard Abood were all in agreement that Starc’s behaviour was out of line.

 

Specifically, they found it in conflict with Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct stating that it is(a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute."

 

An ICC media release in fact described Starc’s behaviour as “an exaggerated celebration”.

 

“The match officials felt that the player’s behaviour was not appropriate, and he was reminded of his responsibilities to extend respect to his opponent and to play within the spirit of the game at all times,” said ICC Match Referee Roshan Mahanama.

 

Seems pretty comprehensive.