Collins reprimanded for 'excessive' appealing

Pedro Collins, the West Indies fast bowler, has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the first day of the second Test against India in St Lucia.

Collins was found to have breached clause 1.5 of the ICC Code which relates to "the practice of celebrating a dismissal before the decision has been given." He was reacting to the dismissal of VVS Laxman, out for a duck after having him caught behind.

This is the second instance of a player being found guilty of the same offence in this series, with India's Virender Sehwag fined 20% of his match fee in the first Test in Antigua. On the last day of the Antigua Test Brian Lara, frustrated by a decision over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's huge hoick that Daren Ganga latched on to right on the boundary rope, snatched the ball from umpire Asad Rauf's hands. No official reprimand followed this obvious indiscretion on the part of the West Indies captain and understandably led to a furore on how the rules discriminated between different sets of players.

Explaining why the outcome of the two cases differed, Jeff Crowe, the match referee, said: "Consistency is definitely something we are keen to establish but, at the same time, there needs to be a recognition that each case has a slightly different set of circumstances.

"In this instance the batsman appeared to start to walk after getting a healthy edge to the ball before the umpire had a chance to make a decision.

"But despite that, Pedro still has to realise he needs to adhere to correct procedure and this reprimand is designed to reinforce that point.

"Pedro pleaded guilty to the charge and was apologetic for his actions," he added.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50% of a player's match fee. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Simon Taufel, Rauf and third umpire Steve Bucknor.

Jeff Crowe reached his conclusion after a hearing attended by Collins, West Indies Team Manager Tony Howard, umpires Taufel, Rauf, Bucknor and fourth umpire Lawrence Thomas.