There is more bad news for the Pakistani cricket team following their 90-run defeat by the West Indies in the first Test at Trinidad on Tuesday. Two of their pacers have now been punished by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for unsporting conduct.
Khurram Shahzad has been fined 15% of his match fee for celebrating too close to West Indian batter Shai Hope in the second innings after removing him. He has also been handed one demerit point. The other Pakistan bowler is Mohammad Abbas, whose celebration after getting Jomel Warrican out was considered improper. He was way too animated. It was the last wicket of the Caribbean innings, after which Pakistan needed 211 to win the game. Abbas, who completed a five-for with that wicket, was officially reprimanded for his act but was not fined like Shahzad. He got one demerit point though.
“Both players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for formal hearings,” an ICC release said.
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In the match, the West Indies were in control for a very large part. In the fourth innings, led by a Jayden Seales five-for, they bowled the visitors out for 120 to take the contest and lead 1-0 in the two-game series. Except for captain Babar Azam (58 not out), none of their batters could stand up to the hosts’ bowlers. After the defeat, Azam blamed first-innings centurion Shan Masood’s finger injury for his team’s timid performance in the final innings of the match.
“Yes, Shan Masood’s injury affected us because, unfortunately, his finger is fractured, so we definitely missed him.
“At the same time, when you’re facing the new ball, you have to survive the first 20 overs, build partnerships, and then, as the ball gets older, the pitch becomes easier to bat on. We couldn’t put together those partnerships.
“We played good cricket in the last few days, but today we were not up to the mark as a batting unit. The surface is good, and we expected the new ball to move, for which we were prepared… but I think they bowled very well and used the conditions nicely. We’ll sit together and discuss these things because, while the result hasn’t gone our way, we can certainly address our mistakes. We’ll do our best to correct them and ensure we improve going forward,” Azam said.
The second and final game starts on August 2 at Port of Spain.