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ZIMBABWE wicket-keeper and batsman Brendan Taylor and Afghanistan’s 16-year-old spinner Mujeeb Rahman have also been sanctioned for separate incidents during the stormy ICC Cricket World cup Qualifier between the two sides at Queens Sports Club on Tuesday.

Taylor was found to have breached Article 2.1.5, which deals with “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”, while Mujeeb was found guilty of breaching Article 2.2.8, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match”.

Taylor was fined 15 per cent of his match fee and received one demerit point after pleading guilty to the charge, while Mujeeb was fined 50 per cent of his match fee and got three demerit points following a hearing that took place yesterday after he had denied the offence and opted to contest the charge at a full hearing.

The incident involving Taylor happened during the closing stages of the match when the wicket-keeper showed dissent after umpire Chettithody Shamsuddin had turned down a leg before appeal against Dawlat Zadran off the bowling of Blessing Muzarabani. Mujeeb was charged and subsequently fined when, after fielding off his own bowling, the off-spinner threw the ball back at the batsman who had not left his crease.  The on-field umpires deemed the throwing “in a dangerous manner” as it narrowly missed Brendan Taylor.

The charges were laid by on-field umpires Chris Brown and Chettithody Shamsuddin and third umpire Paul Wilson. Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended for his team’s upcoming two matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 after his accumulated demerit points reached four within a 24-month period.

This follows his latest breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for which he received a 15 per cent fine and one demerit point.

During a thrilling match against Zimbabwe at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Tuesday, Shahzad was found guilty of breaching Article 2.1.8, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.

As Shahzad had been fined 100 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points in a Twenty20 International against the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Stadium on 12 December 2016, the addition of this one demerit point took him to the threshold of four demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have now been converted into two suspension points**. — ICC