Ranatunga 'following orders' (30 January 1999)
SRI LANKA captain Arjuna Ranatunga says he was only following orders when he led a walk-off protest against Australian umpire Ross Emerson in last Saturday's one-day match against England in Adelaide
30-Jan-1999
30 January 1999
Ranatunga 'following orders'
By Nelson Clare in Perth
SRI LANKA captain Arjuna Ranatunga says he was only following
orders when he led a walk-off protest against Australian umpire
Ross Emerson in last Saturday's one-day match against England in
Adelaide.
Ranatunga's action after Emerson no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan
for throwing led to him being found guilty of misconduct by the
International Cricket Council, who gave him a six-match suspended
ban and fined him 75 per cent of his match fee.
Ranatunga said: "My actions in approaching the boundary line were
consistent with the instructions I had received from the Board of
Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka to consult with them should
Murali be no-balled.
"The implications of the decision of umpire Emerson were
potentially far-reaching and beyond my authority as captain of
the Sri Lankan team, where my responsibilities are limited to the
team's on-field performance."
Ranatunga, who also had a heated, finger-pointing exchange with
Emerson, said he was sorry for the embarrassment he had caused to
"the opposition team, members of the public and officials" but
felt it was his duty to defend Muralitharan.
He added: "As captain, I acknowledge and understand my
responsibility to uphold the spirit as well as the laws of the
game."
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)