Hoffmann fined for shoulder-barge

Scotland's Paul Hoffmann has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during their narrow victory over Canada in the ICC World Cricket League in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The offence occurred after Hoffmann had delivered a ball which John Davison played to the on-side. Hoffmann was deemed to have breached the Code after he ran across the pitch and deliberately dropped his shoulder, knocking the non-striker, Abdool Samad, to the ground.

At a hearing that took place at the close of play, Roshan Mahanama, the tournament referee, found Hoffmann guilty of a Level 2 offence. Samad was able to get up and complete the run but then play had to be stopped for four minutes so that he could receive treatment.

Explaining the decision, Mr Mahanama said: "It is very important that this tournament, as with all cricket, is played in the true spirit of the game and Paul's behaviour was clearly unacceptable. In coming to my decision I took into account Paul's clean past record and the fact that he apologised for his actions."

The charge was brought by the on-field umpires, Gary Baxter and Roger Dill. Mahanama reached his decision after the hearing, which was attended by the offending player, Scotland's captain Craig Wright, the team manager Dick Auchinleck, and both umpires.