Dilshan, Jayawardene reprimanded for excessive appealing

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene have been officially reprimanded for excessive appealing during their Champions Trophy match against New Zealand in Birmingham.

According to statement from the ICC, Dilshan and Jayawardena were found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "excessive appealing during an international match".

The charges were laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker, as well as third umpire Ian Gould and fourth umpire Steve Davis.

Dilshan and Jayawardene were charged for excessive and prolonged appealing in a keenly-contested low-scoring match that New Zealand won by one-wicket last night.

Both the players pleaded guilty to a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct and as such, under the provisions of the code, the matter was determined by match referee Andy Pycroft and so there was no requirement for a full hearing.

"Irrespective of the outcome of an umpire's decision, players are not entitled to prolonged appeals as these can be construed as pressuring the umpires. Both the players accepted their mistake and apologised for their actions," Pycroft later said.

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.

Image: Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan (right) celebrates after the dismissal of New Zealand's James Franklin during the ICC Champions Trophy group ‘A’ cricket match at the Cardiff  Wales Stadium
Photograph: Rebecca Naden/Reuters