Dickwella fined for claiming unfair catch
Sri Lanka's debutant wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella has been fined 10% of the match fee and received an official reprimand, for claiming an unfair catch on day three of the second Test against South Africa
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Jul-2014
Niroshan Dickwella has been fined 10% of his match fee for claiming an unfair catch off AB de Villiers • AFP
Sri Lanka's debutant wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella has been fined 10% of the match fee and received an official reprimand, for claiming an unfair catch on day three of the second Test against South Africa.
Dickwella had admitted to the Level 1 breach of the ICC's Code of Conduct, and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Jeff Crowe. He was found to have breached article 2.1.8 of the code, which concerns conduct that is either "contrary to the spirit of the game" or "brings the game into disrepute".
The incident had occurred in the seventh over of the day - the 59th of South Africa's first innings - when AB de Villiers gloved a ball from Suranga Lakmal down the leg side. Dickwella collected the deflection on the bounce, and immediately threw the ball in the air and appealed, while the batsman stood his ground.
Umpire Nigel Llong then conferred with square leg umpire Richard Kettleborough before sending the decision to third umpire Billy Bowden. Replays conclusively showed the ball had bounced inches short of Dickwella's gloves.
Dickwella had been flown in from the UK, where he had been with the Sri Lanka A team, to take part in the match. He scored 72 and 16 on debut, and took a catch and effected a stumping in South Africa's first innings.