Dubai, Oct 22 (IANS) Afghanistan’s Ismat Alam received an official reprimand for violating level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Harare on Tuesday.

Ismat was found to violate Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which pertains to “throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match.”

In addition, one demerit point has been recorded against Ismat’s disciplinary record, as it was his first offence within a 24-month period.

The incident happened in the 90th over of Zimbabwe’s first innings when Ismat fielded the ball during his follow-through and threw it dangerously close to batter Tafadzwa Tsiga.

Ismat acknowledged the offence and agreed to the sanction recommended by Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, along with third umpire Forster Mutizwa and fourth umpire Percival Sizara, issued the charge.

Level 1 breaches result in a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, up to 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

Afghanistan are currently in Zimbabwe for a one-off Test being played at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. After the visiting batters posted 127-10 in 32.3 of their first innings, the hosts notched 359-10 in 103 overs to take a 232-run lead.

Afghanistan, however, continued to struggle in their second innings as Abdul Malik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi were dismissed for single digit scores.

The visitors will look to get to a decent total in their ongoing second innings to avoid a loss.

–IANS

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