Bob Woolmer facing ICC disciplinary hearing

Bob Woolmer: appeals talk doesn't appeal to ICC © Getty Images

Pakistan's coach Bob Woolmer has been reported under the ICC Code of Conduct for comments made about the umpiring during Pakistan's recent tour of Australia. He told an Australian newspaper that the close decisions 'went 29-5 against us'.

Woolmer also alleged that five close calls against Pakistan in the first match of the one-day VB Series finals, and added that a declined appeal against Adam Gilchrist in the first over of the second final was "plumb". Woolmer concluded: "Quite frankly, Australia were the better side against us this summer, but some of these decisions made a huge difference. You are talking about decisions which players' careers rested on."

But Woolmer's outspoken comments did not go down well at the ICC, whose high-performance manager he used to be. Malcolm Speed, the chief executive, has exercised his right to cite Woolmer under Level 2.4 of the ICC Code, which deals with "public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match-related incident or match official".

The hearing will be dealt with by the Pakistan Cricket Board as soon as is reasonably practicable. All Level 2 breaches carry a minimum penalty of 50% of the player or official's match fee, and a maximum penalty of their full match fee and/or a ban for one Test or two ODIs. In the case of officials who are not paid a match fee, it is considered to be the same as that of the players. If an official is banned they are not permitted to carry out their duties during the matches in question.