ICC punishes Moeen Ali for ‘applying drying agent’ to hand during 1st Ashes Test

England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who made his Test return after two years in the first Ashes match of the 2023 series, was found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in the game against Australia at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. International Cricket Council has hence slapped a fine amounting to 25 per cent of his match fees.

Moeen Ali was found to have 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. The England star has also been docked one demerit point which has been added to his disciplinary record for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. This was the England all-rounder’s first offence in the past 24 months.

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The incident happened in the 89th over of Australia's first innings on Day 2 of the Birmingham game when the spinner was spotted applying a drying agent to his bowling hand at the boundary line while fielding.

Moeen accepted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no formal hearing. The Match Referee was also satisfied that the drying agent was only applied on his finger and not used an an artificial substance to the ball, thereby not changing the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition. On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Mike Burns levelled the charge.

Talking about the match, opener Usman Khawaja (126) and Alex Carey (52) resumed the proceedings on Day 3 in Birmingham with Australia 82 runs behind England's first-innings total of 393/8d.