Anderson, Jadeja found not guilty by judicial commissioner

Southampton, Aug 1 (IANS) England fast bowler James Anderson and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were found not guilty of breaching the Code of Conduct during their alleged altercation at Trent Bridge, by judicial commissioner Gordon Lewis at a hearing here Friday.

Lewis overturned the 50 percent fine slapped on Jadeja by Match Referee David Boon at a previous hearing. India appealed against the fine and Jadeja was found not guilty.

The ICC in a statement said that Lewis has found both Anderson and Jadeja not guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.

"The Judicial Commissioner reached his decisions following a six-hour hearing, which took place via video conference. Witnesses, including some Indian and English players, provided evidence and were cross-examined by the respective legal counsels," ICC said in a statement.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Anderson were represented in the hearings by Nick De Marco while Adam Lewis represented Jadeja. The hearings were also attended by the two team managers, the ECB’s Paul Downton, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Sundar Raman and M.V Sridhar, the ICC’s General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and the ICC’s Ethics and Regulatory lawyer, Sally Clark.

Anderson was slapped with a Level 3 charge for allegedly abusing and pushing Jadeja at the start of the lunch break on the second day of the first Test at Trent Bridge. Had he been found guilty, Anderson would have been banned for at least two Tests.

Jadeja was alleged to have turned in a threatening manner towards Anderson and was earlier found guilty by Boon. The cricketer was fined 50 percent of his match fee which had upset India. 

The BCCI lodged an appeal and Jadeja's fine was overturned here Friday.