ICC reprimand James Anderson for showing dissent; handed one demerit point

England fast bowler James Anderson has received an official reprimand and one demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second day’s play in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday.

Anderson was found to have violated Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”. Anderson now has two demerit points against his name after he had received one demerit point for showing dissent during the second day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval in September.

The incident happened in the 39^th over of Sri Lanka’s innings when Anderson showed dissent by first complaining at the umpire’s decision and then throwing the ball into the pitch after he had received a first warning from umpire Chris Gaffaney for running on the wicket.

After the match, Anderson admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft. As such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Gaffaney and Marais Erasmus, third umpire S Ravi and fourth umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge. Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

England bossing the game

As far as the match is concerned, England are currently on top. After posting 342 runs on the board in the first innings, they skittled out Sri Lanka for just 203 runs and earned a huge lead of 139. In their second essay, their batsmen put up a better show and have stretched the lead to 250 now and still have seven wickets in hand. Keaton Jennings and Ben Stokes are currently batting in the middle and would be looking to add as many as they can in order to bat the hosts out of the game.

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