Pakistan's Shahid Afridi charged under ICC Code of Conduct

Pakistan's Shahid Afridi has been charged under the ICC's Code of Conduct following an incident during the ODI against South Africa at Centurion on Sunday.

Afridi has been charged with a Level 3 offence under section C 2 of the Code which refers to "conduct unbecoming...which could bring (players or officials) or the game of cricket into disrepute."

The charge was laid by ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed and relates to an incident which took place after Afridi was dismissed.

As the player walked up a set of stairs towards the dressing room a spectator apparently said something to him and Afridi reacted by appearing to push his bat at the person in an aggressive manner, causing the spectator to take evasive action.

If found guilty of a Level 3 offence, Afridi faces a ban of between two and four Test matches or between four and eight ODIs.

The hearing, to be conducted by Chris Broad, a member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, will take place as soon as possible and details of its timing will be released in due course, as will the result.

Until the hearing takes place, Afridi remains available to play for Pakistan.

A media release detailing the result of the hearing will be distributed as soon as possible after its conclusion.

If a player is found guilty of a Level 2, 3 or 4 offence then he has a right of appeal. Such an appeal must be lodged in writing with the ICC's legal counsel within 24 hours of the player receiving the original verdict.

Mr Speed laid the charge after studying video footage of the incident while in the Caribbean, where he is attending a series of meetings ahead of next month's ICC Cricket World Cup. Under the Code, he is one of four individuals or groups entitled to lay a charge, the others being the umpires, either side's team manager and either side's Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Speed has five days after the close of the play in which to lay a charge; the other people named above have 18 hours to do so.

The ICC Code of Conduct for players and officials can be found at: https://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rules/code-of-conduct-for-players-and-officials.pdf