Clarke fined half his match fee after verbal outburst

Flashpoint: Rikki Clarke lets fly to Mushfiqur Rahman

Rikki Clarke has been fined half of his match fee after his heated exchange with Mushfiqur Rahman during England's opening Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka

Clarke, who was making his Test debut, was hauled before Wasim Raja, the match referee, after England's win, for verbally abusing Rahman on the fourth day. He was charged with a level-two offence under the Code of Conduct, and could potentially have had the embarrassment of becoming the first England player to be banned by the ICC.

However, after a short hearing, 22-year-old Clarke escaped a ban. Instead he was fined 50% of his match fee, and will now available for selection in next week's second Test at Chittagong.

The flare-up happened when Clarke became frustrated after Rahman edged him through the vacant third-man area for four, and let the batsman know exactly how he felt with a string of expletives. The incident was spotted by Akhtaruddin, the third umpire, who then reported it to Raja.