Kumar Sangakkara was found not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct after colliding with Nathan McCullum during their match against New Zealand that was abandoned for the second consecutive day.
The Sri Lanka skipper, initially charged with breaching clause 2.2.4 which deals with "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play," was later cleared of any offence by match referee Alan Hurst.
The incident took place in the 27th over of the Sri Lankan innings. Sangakkara guided a McCullum delivery to fine leg and set off for a run. As he was turning for the second, he bumped into the bowler, who had his back to Sangakkara. McCullum complained to the umpire and Sangakkara also had words with him.
Had Sangakkara been found guilty, he could have been fined between 50 to 100% of his match fee or handed two suspension points (a ban of a Test or two ODIs or two Twenty20s).
"I looked at video footage of the incident from various angles and considered the detailed evidence of the umpires. I found that video evidence that was put forward by the player provided reasonable doubt as to whether the contact was deliberate," Hurst said.
Mahela Jayawardene, however, defended his captain after the match saying "I saw the replay afterwards. Sanga was blind when he turned around".
"I think you just need to concentrate on cricket rather than all the other things."
Courtesy: ESPN Star
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