The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday took strong exception to the critical comments made by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his England counterpart Alastair Cook on the James Anderson- Ravindra Jadeja altercation and urged both the captains to respect the judicial process.
On the eve of the third Test, Dhoni made it clear that he was "hurt" after ICC match referee David Boon slapped Jadeja for Level-I offence, resulting in a 50 percent fine in match fees. Dhoni also gave his side of the story on what transpired between the feuding duo during the break of that Trent Bridge Test where Anderson had allegedly pushed and abused Jadeja.
In a media release issued by ICC, its Chief Executive David Richardson said: "England captain Alastair Cook and, more recently, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have made public comments relating to the alleged incident that took place during the first Test at Trent Bridge, the latter of which is critical of and undermines the ICC disciplinary process.
"The ICC would also like to reiterate its full support of the process followed and respect for the decision made by David Boon. ICC Code of Conduct hearings of this nature are, generally speaking, difficult processes to work through, with detailed legal submissions, witness statements and oral witness testimony," Richardson said in the release.
"We are satisfied that Mr Boon carefully and comprehensively considered the evidence and submissions presented to him at the hearing, which included conflicting evidence from both sides, prior to making his decision," he added.
Richardson urged all the stakeholders to be extremely careful of the kind of comments that they make as an extensive legal process is involved into arriving at a correct decision.
"In legal matters such as this, the ICC takes extremely seriously its duty as administrators of the game. Therefore, I request all stakeholders to respect the process which remains ongoing and remind them of their duties to the integrity of the process and the sport so that we can focus on the game of cricket itself."
The hearing of England bowler James Anderson will be held on Friday, August 1, in Southampton and will be conducted by the Judicial Commissioner, Gordon Lewis.
