Aus vs Eng, Perth T20I: Aussie captain Aaron Finch reprimanded for on-field audible obscenity in series opener

Australia captain Aaron Finch has been reprimanded for an on-field audible obscenity incident which took place during the first of the three-match T20I series against England in Perth on Sunday (October 09). The Aussie skipper, who recently retired from ODIs, was found to have breached the Level 1 ICC Code of Conduct for resorting to inappropriate language during the England innings. As a result, he breached Article 2.3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relating to the “use of an audible obscenity during an International Match.”

Thus, the Australian skipper admitted the offence and received an official reprimand and one demerit point was added to his disciplinary record. While the offence was Finch’s first in the last two years, the swashbuckling right-hander might face stern action if such incidents are repeated in the remainder of the England T20Is or during the upcoming T20 World Cup. It is to be noted that when a player acquires four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they get converted into suspension points which results in a player being banned. 

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Talking about the first T20I at Perth, Australia opted to bowl first at the iconic ground. Riding on Jos Buttler (68) and Alex Hales’ (84) 132-run opening stand, England posted a competitive 208 for 6 in 20 overs. In reply, David Warner’s 44-ball 73 took Australia to 200 for 9 as the home side lost by eight runs. During the run-chase, Matthew Wade made heads turn for obstructing play in the 17th over of the run-chase. After mistiming a delivery from Mark Wood, he blocked the English pacer from completing the catch. To everyone’s surprise, England skipper Jos Buttler didn’t appeal against the Aussie counterpart. 

At the post-match presentation, Buttler said, “I was looking at the ball the whole time, so I wasn’t sure what happened. They asked if I wanted to appeal, but I thought we are here for a long time in Australia so would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip,” Buttler said at the post-match presentation. Further, he was asked if he would look at such an incident in a different way had it been a World Cup encounter, he replied ‘Maybe, yeah.’