(REUTERS) – Australian captain Ricky Ponting has been reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for damaging a television in the team’s dressing room during Australia’s World Cup match against Zimbabwe on Monday.
In a statement, the ICC said he was found guilty of “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.
The incident happened shortly after the Cup holders’ skipper was run-out for 28 and he threw down a piece of equipment which bounced off his kit bag and hit the corner of the television.
“Ricky knows that his action was in breach of the code, involving a brief moment of frustration. That said, it was clear that the damage he caused was purely accidental and without malice, he apologised shortly after the incident at the ground and immediately agreed to pay for the damage,” ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama said.
Ponting escaped any further punishment even though he could have been fined up to 50 percent of his match fee.
The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) had initially alerted the Indian board about the damage caused by Ponting, which occurred during Australia’s 91-run victory over Zimbabwe in the Group A match. The matter had later escalated to the ICC.
“Ponting did throw his gloves at the television. You can’t see any damage from outside but when you switch it on, there is no picture on three-fourth of the screen. We had to replace the television set,” GCA secretary Rajesh Patel said by phone yesterday.
Ponting was criticised in the India media for the episode but the Australian team spokesman Lachy Patterson said it had been overblown.
“Ricky threw his box (groin protector) into his bag and it flew up into a TV set. It wasn’t smashed. There was a small blackout on one corner of the screen. It was still working when (it was) replaced,” Patterson was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper.