Anderson, Jadeja found not guilty

Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson were both found not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct, by Gordon Lewis, the judicial commissioner appointed by the International Cricket Council.

The ruling came after a six-hour hearing on Friday (August 1), which took place via videoconference. Players from India and England gave evidence as witnesses, and were cross-examined by the respective legal counsels of both sides.

Anderson, and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), were represented in the hearings by Nick De Marco, while Adam Lewis QC represented Jadeja. The hearings were also attended by the two team managers, Paul Downton, ECB’s managing director, Sundar Raman and MV Sridhar, of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Geoff Allardice, the ICC general manager, and, Sally Clark, the ICC’s Ethics and Regulatory lawyer, were also present.

The charge against Anderson was laid by the Indian management during the first Test at Trent Bridge. The visiting side said Anderson had abused and pushed Jadeja in the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms during the lunch interval on day two of the match. The England team management, who initially dismissed it as a “minor” incident after Sunil Dev, the Indian team manager, had filed a complaint to David Boon, the match referee, later filed a Level 2 counter-charge against Jadeja.

On Thursday, the Indian Express, reported that the BCCI was in possession of ‘incriminating evidence’, including video footage, against Anderson and his alleged physical row with Jadeja. However, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India captain, said he had no knowledge of the existence of any video evidence, shortly after India lost the third Test at Ageas Bowl. (put hyperlink)
Last week, Jadeja was found guilty of acting in a manner “contrary to the spirit of the game”, a Level 1 offence under the ICC Code of Conduct for Players, for his role in the altercation with Anderson.
Jadeja was found not guilty of the original Level 2 charge England had levelled against him, that he “turned suddenly and took steps towards Anderson in an aggressive and threatening manner”, but the verdict disappointed both Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, and the BCCI, with the Indian board announcing immediately that they would appeal against it.
“The BCCI wishes to make it clear that it is not satisfied with the verdict. The BCCI reserves its right to appeal against the sentence,” Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary, had said on July 25. “The BCCI believes that Mr Ravindra Jadeja was not at fault, and supports him fully.”
As per ICC regulations, first Level 1 offences can’t be appealed, but since this was Jadeja’s second such offence this year – after November 2013, when he was fined for abusing Shane Watson during an ODI – BCCI did have the right to appeal.