London – England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been given a reprimand after accidentally smashing a dressing room window during the drawn Test with Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council confirmed Wednesday.
A furious Prior reacted angrily after being run out on Tuesday's fifth day at Lord's, breaking a window pane which sent shards into the members area causing minor injuries to a spectator.
The England and Wales Cricket Board sought to draw a line under the incident on Tuesday, stressing it was an accident and noting that Prior had apologised to the spectator involved.
However the ICC said in a statement it had reprimanded Prior over his conduct.
“England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code of conduct during his team's Test match against Sri Lanka at Lord's,” the statement said.
“Prior accepted the Level 1 charge and the proposed sanction from Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees after an incident where a window was broken in the England team dressing room.
“He was found to have breached clause 2.1.2 of the code which relates to 'abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match'.”
Match referee Javagal Srinath said in a statement Prior needed “to be more careful in future.”
“That said, it was clear that the damage he caused was purely accidental and without malice. It's also noted that he apologised to the ground authority for the incident,” Srinath said.
Meanwhile the 22-year-old student who was injured in the incident, Emma Baker, said she bore no ill-will towards Prior.
“It certainly wasn't something that I expected to happen, but it hasn't put me off cricket or coming to watch England play here. Everyone was very nice about it,” she told The Daily Mail.
“Matt Prior has said he is sorry and I've accepted that. I realise these things sometimes happen in the dressing room and I won't be taking the matter further.” – Sapa-AFP