'He could have repeatedly disguised the spray': Brad Hogg questions ICC's fine on England's Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali caught everyone's attention during the ongoing Ashes opener at Edgbaston in Birmingham. But it wasn't for the right reasons as the all-rounder has been found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in the match on Day 2. ICC has also fined him 25 per cent of his match fees.

The incident happened in the 89th over of Australia's first innings on Day 2 when he was seen applying a drying agent to his bowling hand at the boundary line while fielding. It has been revealed that it was to treat a blister.

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The veteran breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game. He has also been slapped with one demerit point which has been added to his disciplinary record for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

Taking to Twitter, former Aussie spinner Brad Hogg revealed that he felt the fine was an 'overspin' on the issue. "25 per cent fine for this is a bit of 'overspin' on the issue when you know Moeen was not using it for any other purpose than to prevent his blister getting worse! He could have left the ground repeatedly disguising the spray but did it openly. Fair play given the finger! #Ashes2023," he wrote.

The 36-year-old has accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, and there was no formal hearing. Also, the Match Referee was satisfied that the drying agent was only applied on his finger and not used as an artificial substance on the ball. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Mike Burns.