Sri Lanka opener Tharanga Paranavitana has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand.
The punishment was handed down by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC match referees following a hearing at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at the conclusion of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday.
The player had pleaded guilty to a charge under Rule C1 of the Code (Level 2) which states that players shall at all times conduct play within the spirit of the game.
The incident that led to the charge being laid took place in the 51st over of New Zealand's second innings when Paranavitana claimed a catch at silly mid-off when the ball was hit to him by number-10 batsman Iain O'Brien. Paranavitana immediately started celebrating the "catch" by throwing the ball in the air.
As the umpires moved towards each other to confer, Paranavitana also crossed the pitch in jubilation and continued to appeal several times in an excited manner.
The match referee downgraded the charge to Level 1, something he is entitled to do under the terms of the ICC Code of Conduct.
Commenting on his findings, Mr Pycroft said: "The player's previous excellent conduct, his apology at the hearing and his excitement at Sri Lanka being on the verge of winning the series are some of the factors that I took into account before downgrading the charge.
"But the fact of the matter is you can't celebrate by throwing the ball in the air and cross the pitch while continuing to appeal as the umpires are conferring with each other.
"It is not the sort of example that players should be setting at any time, especially given the message his action sends out to the millions of people watching at the ground and on television. Therefore his behaviour merited some form of action.
"Although the maximum punishment for a Level 1 offence is equivalent to minimum penalty for a Level 2 offence, Paranavitana's record will show him as a Level 1 offender and not a Level 2 offender.
"Although replays showed that the ball hit the ground before it reached Tharanga, I am satisfied that he did not know this at the time and was not attempting to deceive the umpires in that regard."
The hearing was attended by the player, as well as Sri Lanka team manager Brendon Kuruppu, on-field umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong, and third umpire Kumar Dharmasena.
Video evidence was used during the hearing.
The penalty for a Level 2 offence is a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of the player's match fee and/or a maximum ban of one Test match or two ODIs. For Level 2 offences players have the right to appeal against an adjudicator's decision within 24 hours of notification of that decision.
Level 1 penalties range from an official reprimand and/or a fine of up to 50 per cent of the player's match fee. For Level 1 offences the match referee's decision is final and binding and there is no right of appeal.
