Credit: X
Stuart Broad has raised questions to ICC after Mohammed Siraj was fined 15% of his match fees for aggressive celebration during the third Test against England at Lords. With 604 Test wickets to his name, Broad of England clearly forged a brilliant reputation as one of the very best to have ever bowled in an English jersey, a great fast bowler who during the 2010s up until the last couple of seasons made lightwork of some of the best batters in the game. Broad, who retired a couple of cricketing summers ago as an England national, has since then taken to commentary for a widely noted English broadcaster. His honest assessment and engaging insights on the game have also earned him credibility as an analyst of the sport who once performed brightly on the ground.
But something about the ongoing contest at Lords between England and India, now in its final moments, seems to have upset the right arm former pacer. In a tweet posted on X, referencing to a penalty extented to an Indian player, Broad made no effort of hiding his displeasure with the way the umpires struck players with penalty pointing to a sense of inconsistency.
Gill swears live on TV and carries on: Stuart Broad
This is what Stuart Broad's Tweet read, "Find this ridiculous. Siraj 15% for aggressive celebration. Gill swears live on TV and carries on and what? It's either both or neither. Players aren't and shouldn't be robots but consistency is key".
The context of this was simple. Towards the end of Day 3, such a significant moment of the Lord's Test, India's captain Shubman Gill was unhappy with Zak Crawley biding his time, engaging deliberately in acts that would bring early end to the day's play with the bowling side piling on the pressure. Needless delays, perhaps a ploy, irked the captain so much that he used colourful language to underline the batter's cowardice. This was heard loud and clear, although, the act attracted no penalty from match officials, whatosever. On the other hand, the very next day upon taking the big wicket of Ben Duckett, Mohammed Siraj, the wickettaker was seen engaging in aggressive post-wicket celebrations.
But on that occasion, it didn't take long for match officials to reprimand him with a 15% fines on his match fees. While Gill, who clearly spoke impolitely, went scot-free, Siraj was fined. Broad's social media post indicates the inconsistency shown toward handling a debatable gesture on the part of players- or does it?
