England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee from the Ashes 2023 opener against Australia at the Edgbaston in Birmingham. The same was confirmed by the world cricket governing body - the International Cricket Council (ICC) who found him in violation of the Code of Conduct because of which he is being punished. The ICC apparently adjudged Moeen Ali to be in breach of Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel which is concerning conduct of the player in contrast to the spirit of the game.
This is not all as Ali, who has come back from Test retirement to be part of this series, also finds a demerit point added to his disciplinary record for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. It is pertinent to note that this was the Chennai Super Kings star's first offence in the last 24 months.
The all-rounder has been imposed this fine for an incident that happened in the 89th over of Australia's first innings when Moeen was seen applying a drying agent to his bowling hand at the boundary line where he was stationed as a fielder. An official release from the ICC confirmed that Moeen has admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
Mooen's acceptance of the charges implied that no formal hearing was needed. The Match Referee, the ICC release confirmed, was satisfied that the cream had been applied to Ali's finger only to dry his hands.and not to the ball to alter its condition. Had that been done, it would have been in breach of the clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition.
Match officials including On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Mike Burns were the ones that levelled the charge.