England off-spinner Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for spraying a substance on his finger without the umpires’ consent during the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
The incident happened in the 89th over of play on Saturday, which was day two of the match.
Moeen is playing his first Test since September 2021 after being lured out of retirement by captain Ben Stokes following the stress fracture of the back suffered by fellow spinner Jack Leach.
Moeen took two wickets on day two, with Travis Head caught at short midwicket and Cameron Green bowled.
The 36-year-old breached Level One of the ICC Code of Conduct, with an ICC statement reading: “Ali was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.
“In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Ali’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.
“The incident occurred in the 89th over of Australia’s innings, when Ali sprayed a drying agent on his bowling hand at the boundary line before coming on to bowl the next over, thus defying the umpires’ pre-series instructions about not using anything on their hands without prior approval.
“Ali admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.”