Matt Prior Reprimanded But Not Fined By ICC For Lord’s Window-gate

The ICC acted upon Matt Prior’s transgression in the second Test match at the Lord’s cricket ground and has reprimanded him for the same. While the exact details of what transpired are rather blurred because of contradicting versions, what is not in doubt is that Prior’s dressing-room frustration culminated into a broken Lord’s window and a minor injury to a female spectator.

It is surprising that this is the second incident in three months of this magnitude that the sport has seen. Earlier, during the World Cup, the then-Australian captain Ricky Ponting had disrupted a television set after being dismissed and the ICC had done nothing but to reprimand the player.

In the case of Ponting, he had been going through a lean trot with the bat. Prior, on the other hand, had scored a century in the first innings and was sent in to bat in the second innings at Lord’s with a mandate to smash the ball around to enable an early declaration.

What surprises me the most in both the above incidents is the magnitude of the punishments handed out. While former cricketer and commentator Nasser Hussain has expressed his happiness that the incident showed that Prior valued his innings, the same yardstick can be used for bowlers who swore at the opposite batsmen on being hit to the fence.

It is, to me, about the frustration needing to remain within the confines of the dressing room – failing which the player needed to be appropriately punished so that the others can take a lesson from it.

The charge of Level 1 against him could have seen him 50% of his match fee lighter but clearly, the ICC has decided to allow such transgressions to get away with a proverbial rap on the knuckles alone.

Incidentally, the match ended in a draw to allow England to consolidate their 1-0 lead.