Australia vice-captain David Warner and South Africa batsman Quinton de Kock have been charged by the International Cricket Council for their heated off-field exchange on the fourth day of the first cricket test in Durban.
Quinton de Kock of South Africa shakes hands with the David Warner of Australia. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
CCTV footage from the players tunnel at Kingsmead showed Warner and home wicketkeeper De Kock involved in a fiery exchange as players climbed the stairwell to their dressing rooms during the tea break.
"The umpires officiating in the Durban test have reported Warner for a level 2 offence and De Kock for a level 1 offence for 'conduct that brings the game into disrepute'," the ICC said in a statement.
The teams have been given until tomorrow to respond to the charges handed out by match referee Jeff Crowe.
Warner faces a possible suspension from the second test in Port Elizabeth. A level 2 charge brings with it up to four demerit points that could result in a one-test or two limited-overs game ban.
He could also be fined 100 percent of his match fee from the first test.
Australia won the opening test of the four-match series by 118 runs. The second test starts this weekend.
An image from video footage showing Australian players holding David Warner back during an altercation with South Africa's Quintin de Kock. Photo: You Tube
Earlier the Australian coach Darren Lehmann backed David Warner to remain in his post as vice-captain.
"He's vice-captain of the Australian cricket team," said Lehmann.
"We're certainly supporting David. We want to play a way that gets us success and for us we've just got to make sure we don't cross the line, that's the key," Lehmann added.
"There are things that cross the line and evoke emotion and you've got to deal with that behind closed doors and get better at that. Everyone has their own opinion.
"We'll just wait and see what happens moving forward, how both teams want to play it. For us, we're here to win the series. It's going to be a bloody tough series as we've seen over the five days here."
-Reuters
