BIRMINGHAM: Indian seamer Ishant Sharma has been fined 15 percent of his match fees and received one demerit point after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the third day’s play in the first Test against England at Edgbaston. The 29-year-old, who finished with 5-51 in the second innings, was found to have violated Article 2.1.7 of the code, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an international match”. The incident occurred during the morning session on Day 3 when the pacer celebrated Dawid Malan’s dismissal close to the batsman. The match officials deemed Sharma’s actions had the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction from the departing batsman. The pacer admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Jeff Crowe. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Aleem Dar, Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Marais Erasmus and fourth umpire Tim Robinson. Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points. Published in Daily Times, August 5th 2018.