Mitchell Starc Gives Murali Vijay A Sendoff

While both David Warner and Virat Kohli had stated before this match that the concept of celebrating or gesturing in the face of a departing batsman was an ugly part of the game and should be stopped, following on from the angry scenes in Adelaide that followed one such episode between Warner and Varun Aaron, Mitchell Starc happens to have more to say with face than ball.

Starc, who replaced Mitchell Johnson in the ongoing Sydney Test, had Vijay caught behind in the third ball of the Indian innings. The left-arm pace man gave a hard look to Vijay as he shouted in zest with pumped up fists, celebrating the early success.

Mitchell Starc was issued with an official reprimand following this and was charged with committing a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct following the incident.

Starc admitted to a breach of Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which provides that an offence will be committed where a player engages in “… conduct that either: (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute.”

Ironically, the left-arm pace man, was publicly criticized by Test legend Shane Warne for what he labelled “soft” body language.

An Aussie Test match just cannot get over without a bit of spice, can it.