Play abandoned on day three of Ashes opener, Moeen fined

Moeen Ali
Photo: Photosport

Heavy rain washed out much of the third day of the series-opening Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at Edgbaston.

Play was abandoned around 1715 GMT, after a lengthy rain-enforced break with England on 28-2, a lead of 35 runs, after Australia were bowled out for 386 in the morning session in reply to the hosts’ first innings total of 393.

The match was first halted after lunch with England on 26 for none. They then lost openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in the span of just three overs as Australia took advantage of favourable conditions in a brief restart.

The outlook for tomorrow is more promising, with Britain’s Met Office predicting a largely rain-free day.

Meanwhile, England’s Moeen Ali has been fined 25 percent of his match fee for breaching the ICC code of conduct in the test against Australia after applying drying spray to his finger without seeking permission from the on-field umpires on Saturday.

The ICC said in a statement that in deciding to sanction Moeen with the Level 1 breach, the match referee was satisfied the cream was applied to the finger “only to dry his hands”.

It added that it was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and did not change the condition of the ball.

The incident took place during the 89th over of Australia’s first innings when Moeen appeared to apply the drying agent to his bowling hand while fielding at the boundary.

“One demerit point has been added to Moeen’s disciplinary record for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. This was the England all-rounder’s first offence in the past 24 months,” the ICC added.

– Reuters