Stones fined and hit with demerit point for sweary rant

Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes Johannesburg England South Africa PA

Ben Stokes has been fined 15% of his match fee and handed one demerit point for his angry outburst at a fan during England’s fourth Test against South Africa.

Stokes was walking off the field after being dismissed for two on the first evening at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, when he became enraged at what he later described as “repeated abuse from the crowd”.

He launched into a foul-mouthed response as he approached the distinctive players’ tunnel, with his comments captured by the host network’s cameras and relayed via Sky Sports in the UK.

Stokes went on to issue an apology for his “unprofessional” actions and accepted a charge from match referee Andy Pycroft, who activated article 2.3 of the International Cricket Council’s disciplinary code.

That covers “the use of words commonly known and understood to be offensive, obscene and/or profane and which can be heard by the spectators and/or the viewing public” – the same charge and the same punishment handed to Jos Buttler after he swore at Vernon Philander during the Cape Town Test.

Ben Stokes

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