Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Former England captain Ben Stokes’ retirement from Test cricket rankled many fans and pundits, but now the extraordinary scenes that unfolded at Trent Bridge have drawn the ire of the International Cricket Council.
Stokes’ retirement was revealed mid-way through the fourth day of England’s third Test defeat to New Zealand last month.
A video of the star all-rounder addressing his teammates was posted online and circulated via social video as well as news outlets to fans around the ground who learnt the news while Stokes was bowling.
He subsequently took a wicket in what will go down as a fairytale moment for a man who gave his nation everything on the sporting field.
The rest of his celebrations, including promoting himself to open the batting and being dismissed for a kamikaze 30 that saw England collapse to a series defeat, were not so well received.
And now the ICC have made its thoughts known.
The BBC has reported that cricket’s governing body sent a letter to the ECB the day before England’s loss to Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup final, alleging it contravened its standards for players’ and match officials’ areas (PMOA) at international matches.
Article 2.2.11 of the PMOA minimum standards states national cricket federations should: “Ensure that there are no fixed or temporary video cameras or other recording equipment set up within any dressing room used by the teams for the purposes of broadcasting video or audio footage.”
The ICC say by filming Stokes’ speech in the dressing room and then distributing it publicly before the end of the match, they have breached the standard.
The rules are in place as part of the sport’s anti-corruption code to prevent insider knowledge being leaked.
Stokes said at the end of the fourth day at Trent Bridge, he didn’t have a direct hand in the timing of the announcement.
“I just said, ‘You guys work with Michael Lumb and Neil Fairbrother, who work with me, and you guys just come up with a plan’,” he said.
The ECB has yet to respond to the ICC.
