BIRMINGHAM, England – West Indies wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin has been fined 20 percent of his match fee for celebrating his hundred in the third Test against England here at Edgbaston with a protest against Caribbean cricket great Vivian Richards.
Upon reaching the landmark on Sunday's fourth day, Ramdin held up a piece of paper with the words: 'YEA VIV, TALK NAH'.
That was in response to comments from West Indies great Richards who, commentating on this series for BBC Radio, said Ramdin had “deteriorated in such a big way” and looked a “totally lost guy” after making just one and six during a nine-wicket defeat in the second Test at Trent Bridge, a result that gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead in this three-match series.
But at Edgbaston on Sunday, Ramdin made 107 not out and shared an extraordinary last-wicket stand of 143 with Tino Best, whose 95 was the highest innings by any No 11 batsman in a Test match.
Ramdin admitted he'd been “emotional” after play on Sunday as he sought to defuse any lingering tension with former West Indies captain Richards, one of cricket's greatest batsmen.
But after the third Test was drawn – Monday's final day became the third out of five to be washed out without a ball bowled Ä
match referee Roshan Mahanama announced he'd taken disciplinary action under the International Cricket Council code of conduct after charges were laid by on-field field umpires Tony Hill and Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Aleem Dar, as well as fourth official David Millns.
“It is important that we do not allow a precedent to be set with such a premeditated celebration by Mr Ramdin,” Mahanama said in an ICC statement.
“We all understand the importance of celebrating a milestone, however, one should not use that time as an opportunity to hit out at one's critic or send messages to the world. “
Former Sri Lanka batsman Mahanama added: “I hope Mr Ramdin has learnt his lesson from this incident and that we will not see such behaviour by him or any player in the future when celebrating an achievement within a game of international cricket.”
West Indies captain Darren Sammy, responding to Mahanama's move, said: “Denesh and I spoke and he said in the media yesterday (Sunday) that his emotions got the better of him.
“We as a West Indian team have a lot of respect for our past players, especially somebody so great as Sir Viv. I know Ramdin will probably have a word with him, no love lost, and we can continue respecting our great past players.”
Sammy said this wasn't the first time Ramdin had carried a message with him.
“His first (Test) hundred, a couple of years ago against England, he had a note so probably he should bat with more notes in his pocket.”
But Richards didn't see any funny side to Trinidad keeper Ramdin's actions, telling the BBC's Test Match Special on Sunday:
“It's like in a football match ... if you are losing 5-0 and you score a goal in the 90th minute, you shouldn't be running around jumping for joy.
“I wouldn't be happy with that. I set my standards a bit higher.” – Sapa-AFP