Latif banned for five matches over disputed catch

Mike Procter announces the decision to the media © AFP

Rashid Latif, Pakistan's captain, has been banned for five one-day internationals after being found guilty of violating the International Cricket Council's Code of Conduct during the third Test against Bangladesh at Multan.

This means that Latif will miss the entire one-day series against Bangladesh. Inzamam-ul-Haq has been named captain in Latif's enforced absence. Kamran Akmal will keep wicket.

Mike Procter, the match referee, upheld a complaint made by the Bangladesh team. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Procter said ""I have listened to both parties at length and feel there is good evidence against Latif."

Bangladesh lodged an official protest on Saturday, claiming that Latif knowingly claimed a dropped catch during the day's play. It is alleged that Latif failed to tell the umpire that he had grounded the ball which dismissed Alok Kapali.

Latif appeared to pull off a spectacular take flying in front of first slip, but television replays showed the ball popping out of his gloves as he got up from the floor after rolling over twice.

"As captain a lot of responsibility falls of Rashid Latif and he committed a serious offence by claiming that (unfair) catch which constitutes unfair play and a level-three offence of ICC code of conduct (offensive and penalties). Therefore, the Pakistani captain shall be banned for five one-day internationals," Procter said. "Latif has the right to appeal against the verdict."

Latif believed that he had taken the catch cleanly. "If I had been convinced that I had not taken a clean catch and that the ball popped out of my gloves before I completed the catch motion, I would have called the batsman back," he said. "I dived, took the catch, rolled over and then just threw the ball to Inzamam."

The Wisden Bulletin thought that the catch was dubious. "Was Latif in control of the ball for a sufficient length of time? Perhaps, but clause three of Law 32, which tries to define what constitutes a fair catch, states: `The act of making the catch shall start from the time when a fielder first handles the ball and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control both over the ball and over his own movement.' It is the last part of the clause that Latif arguably did not fulfil."

One-day squad
Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yousuf Youhana, Yasir Hameed, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Junaid Zia, Umar Gul, Shabbir Ahmed.