Legendary Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh just couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened with all-rounder Moeen Ali during the recently concluded 1st Test of the Ashes between England and Australia. England spinner Moeen came out of Test retirement to lead the spin bowling attack of the Three Lions in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston. Moeen produced an unplayable delivery to get the better of Australian batter Cameron Green in the 1st innings of the series opener.
However, the star spinner and middle-order batter also made headlines for breaching Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the 1st Ashes Test match. Moeen was seen applying a drying agent to his hand while fielding at the boundary line during the 89th over of Australia’s first innings at Edgbaston. Moeen's on-field antics also sparked a debate on social media.
Coming out in support of the England all-rounder, ex-India spinner Harbhajan posted a noteworthy tweet on the microblogging site. "Don’t understand so much chatter around Moen Ali using spray on spinning fingers to numb the pain. Only issue is he should have informed the umpires, but if batsman gets a blister under the gloves, and he gets a spray. Will anyone even notice. Same logic, think about it?," Harbhajan said.
Harbhajan's reaction has come after Moeen admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft. Charges against Moeen were levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Mike Burns. For breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, Moeen has obtained one demerit point in his disciplinary record. The Englishman was also fined 25 per cent of his match fee from the first Ashes Test against Australia.
{{/usCountry}}Harbhajan's reaction has come after Moeen admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft. Charges against Moeen were levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Mike Burns. For breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, Moeen has obtained one demerit point in his disciplinary record. The Englishman was also fined 25 per cent of his match fee from the first Ashes Test against Australia.
{{/usCountry}}Moeen only bagged three wickets in the 1st Test of the Ashes series which was won by Australia on the final day of the encounter. Skipper Pat Cummins played a sublime knock of 44 off 73 balls as Australia defeated England by 2 wickets to lead the Ashes series 1-0 on Tuesday. What a great test match #ENGvAUS #Ashes23 Top win for @CricketAus.. great promotion of Test cricket .. Test cricket is a winner," Harbhajan said.