'He's off my Christmas card list': Stuart Broad fined £2,000 by father
Stuart Broad has been given a stern reminder from his father about bad language and left on the verge of a ban after being fined around £2,000 for giving Pakistan’s Yasir Shah a send-off during the first Test.
The former England opener Chris Broad is acting as the match referee for all six Tests this summer after the International Cricket Council opted to use home officials in response to the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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And it became clear on Tuesday that family loyalties are not at play with his son Stuart on the naughty step following an exchange of words after dismissing Yasir on the final morning of England’s remarkable three-wicket victory.
Broad, who had the No 8 caught-behind following a flurry of early-morning boundaries, was fined 15% of his match fee and a third demerit point was added to his disciplinary record – a punishment made on the recommendation of Broad Sr.
Responding to the news, Broad joked on Twitter that his father was “off the Christmas card and present list”.
Under the interim Covid-19 regulations all such decisions go through the ICC cricket operations department, to prevent suggestions of bias. But with Broad Jr not contesting the level one charge, brought by the on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, a formal hearing was not required.
The two previous demerit points on Broad’s record relate to the use of a swear word towards South Africa’s Faf du Plessis in Johannesburg during the winter and “aggressive language” aimed at India’s Rishabh Pant two years ago.
Demerit points stay on a player’s record for 24 months, meaning the Pant sanction, from 19 August 2018, expires next week. But a further such transgression under the code of conduct during the second Test this week will trigger a one-match ban.
