ICC charges Windies’ Ramdin for ‘cheat’ catch

The International Cricket Council on Saturday charged West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin for wrongly claiming a catch against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.

The incident took place at the Oval, London, on Friday when Ramdin "caught" Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq off Kemar Roach before the batsman had opened his account.

Australian umpire Steve Davis gave Misbah out, but the decision was referred to third umpire Tony Hill following the intervention of English official Nigel Llong at square leg.

Replays showed that while Ramdin had, initially, caught the ball, he had subsequently allowed it to spill out of his grasp. It was eventually decided that Ramdin did not have full control over the ball.

The ICC said in a statement that Ramdin had been charged with a Level two breach of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game."

Ramdin has pleaded not guilty to the offence, and a hearing will take place in London on Monday, the ICC said.

If found guilty, Ramdin could be fined between 50 and 100 per cent of his match fees and/or be suspended for up to two one-day internationals.

Misbah, who went on to make 96 not out in his side's two-wicket defeat, slammed Ramdin's action after the match.

"I don't think I would be happy if my wicketkeeper did that," the Pakistan captain said.

"If you don't know if it is (a catch) then fine, but if you know it's not a catch you should not claim it because it's not in the spirit of the game."

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo defended Ramdin against accusations of bad sportsmanship, insisting the 'keeper genuinely believed he had held on for long enough to claim a fair catch.

"Denesh thought he honestly had control of the ball," Bravo said.

"He is a very honest player and history shows that we as a team don't have any stigma of negativity around us. We play the game in the right way. I don't see anything wrong with it."

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