Pedro Collins reprimanded for breach of ICC code of conduct

St Lucia, June 12 (UNI) West Indies bowler Pedro Collins has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code of conduct during his country's second Test match against India.

Collins pleaded guilty to 'excessive appealing' to ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe in a hearing after play concluded in St Lucia yesterday.

Collins was found to have breached 1.5 of the ICC Code which relates to ''the practice of celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given.'' The incident related to Collins' reaction as he dismissed India's VVS Laxman on Saturday, the first day of the second Test match.

This is the second example of a player being found guilty of the same offence in this series, with India's Virender Sehwag fined 20 per cent of his match fee following an incident in the first Test in Antigua.

Explaining why the outcome of the two cases differed, Mr Crowe said, ''Consistency is definitely something we are keen to establish but, at the same time, there needs to be a recognition that each case has a slightly different set of circumstances.'' ''In this instance the batsman appeared to start to walk after getting a healthy edge to the ball before the umpire had a chance to make a decision.'' ''But despite that, Pedro still has to realise he needs to adhere to correct procedure and this reprimand is designed to reinforce that point.'' ''Pedro pleaded guilty to the charge and was apologetic for his actions,'' he added.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee.

The charge was brought by on-field umpires Simon Taufel, Asad Rauf and third umpire Steve Bucknor.

Jeff Crowe reached his conclusion after a hearing attended by Collins, West Indies Team Manager Tony Howard, umpires Taufel, Rauf, Bucknor and fourth umpire Lawrence Thomas.

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