CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

KINGSTON – Vasbert Drakes has described a fine leveled at him for using indecent language as "nonsense" and plans to make a formal appeal to have his name cleared.

Match referee Johnny Gayle, a former Test umpire, says however, the code of conduct he referred to mentions there shall be no right to appeal.

The 32-year-old Drakes, a seasoned overseas professional who is representing Barbados for the first time since 1998, was fined half his match fee after attending a hearing following the conclusion of the Red Stripe Bowl cricket match between Barbados and Jamaica at Sabina Park last Saturday.

According to Gayle, Drakes breached two clauses of the code of conduct by bringing the game into disrepute by his behaviour and using abusive language to the umpire. In response, an upset Drakes said there was no "solid evidence" against him.

"I am going to defend myself. If it needs to be taken further, I will. It is nonsense," Drakes told NATIONSPORT from the team's Knutsford Court hotel yesterday.

`No solid evidence'

"I went into a meeting and explained myself and it was decided, without having any sort of solid evidence of what happened, to impose a fine on me. Whatever the umpire said and whatever I said, no one heard."

The incident in question was alleged to have occurred in the dying stages of the match when Drakes was batting with Barbados chasing an imposing target of 308 in 47 overs.

Satisfied that the quality of the ball had deteriorated, Drakes asked umpire Cecil Fletcher if it could be changed.

Pressed for comment on the matter, Fletcher said because he didn't change the ball, he was met with indecent remarks from Drakes.

"I immediately reported the matter to the next captain and to my fellow umpire. I told him [Vasbert] I was going to report it when we go off the field," Fletcher said.

After Fletcher's report, Drakes was summoned to a hearing that was attended by himself, umpires Fletcher and Maurice Chung, match referee Gayle and Barbados manager Tony Howard.

"What the umpire wrote on a piece of paper was not what I said. You are basically taking one man's word without having any evidence," Drakes said.

"I will appeal. This is the first code of conduct that I see a player doesn't have a right to appeal. How can you have no grounds for appealing?"

Gayle, an experienced match referee who umpired in Tests and One-Day Internationals in the 1980s, said the level of the punishment was justified.

"Using indecent language is not a thing to be taken lightly," Gayle said. "He [Drakes] did say he would appeal, but the code of conduct I have mentions there shall be no appeal."

All-rounder Drakes had smashed a quick-fire 26 off 15 balls before he was caught at deep wicket off off-spinner Ricardo Powell with Barbados still requiring another 30 runs in a little more than two overs. As it turned out, Barbados lost by 20 runs in their only defeat of the preliminaries.

In giving reasons why he opted not to change the ball, umpire Fletcher said the issue was beyond his control.

"The whole problem of balls is not one that umpires can deal with," he said. "You just cannot find suitable replacements for white balls. After about ten overs, all of them get discoloured."

When Jamaica batted, however, the ball was changed mid-way into the innings. Barbados had asked for one of a similar wear and tear, but a new ball was brought out and it was rubbed into the turf before use.

Drakes is also questioning whether his captain, Courtney Browne, should have been present at the hearing.

"You cannot have rules for one person and don't have them for the other. We don't do things the right way," he added.

© The Barbados Nation