The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Dave Richardson to appeal judicial commissioner Gordon Lewis' verdict on the James Anderson-Ravindra Jadeja altercation.
The Indian team was not pleased with the decision and the BCCI had hinted that they may contest the ruling once their legal team goes through Lewis' verdict in detail. And now, as Richardson resumes office, BCCI has urged him to challenge the 'not-guilty' ruling, according to ESPN Cricinfo.
Richardson needs to file an appeal to the ICC Head of Legal within seven days of receiving the detailed verdict from the judicial commissioner. A three-member panel of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission will be formed by the Head of Legal within 48 hours to hear the issue.
Since the matter is between England and India, the three-member panel will be picked from the other eight full member countries. The panel will hear the matter within 30 days and its decision will be final and binding on both teams.
Lewis did not find Anderson guilty of pushing Jadeja because of the lack of video evidence and dropped all charges on him. Anderson, however, admitted abusing Jadeja and did not contest the charges of calling him a "f***ing c***" and a "f***ing p***k".
Anderson constantly abused Jadeja in the Trent Bridge Test, despite on-field umpire Bruce Oxenford's intervention. Oxenford, in a statement, informed that the English pacer constantly used inappropriate language.
A BCCI official told Wisden India that there were double standards in the hearing as Anderson was let off despite him not contesting the abuse charges, and that the ICC has a lot to answer about the series of errors they committed and how they handled the issue.
"There were a series of errors. [David] Boon [the ICC match referee] punished Jadeja, which has been reversed," the report quoted a BCCI official. "Anderson pushed Jadeja, which has been confirmed, but is still found not guilty. [Bruce] Oxenford, the umpire, asked Anderson to stop the abuse on the field, but did not charge him for repeated Code of Conduct violations. The ICC has lots to answer."
Anderson also allegedly pushed Jadeja at a narrow pathway to the dressing room and threatened the all-rounder of breaking his teeth. The judicial commissioner, however, could not find any video evidence and dropped all charges because both teams had their own versions of the story.
