Cricket: ICC referee fines Latif for dissent

Rashid Latif, the Pakistan fielding substitute who hurled his cap to the ground after a rejected caught-behind appeal against David Gower at Headingley yesterday, has been fined around pounds 120 by the International Cricket Council match referee, Clyde Walcott. The sum amounts to 40 per cent of the pounds 300 match fee that Pakistan's players receive for home Tests, writes Martin Johnson.

Walcott described the offence as 'serious and obvious dissent', and said that the player had both admitted to the offence, and apologised. Walcott added: 'I took into account the fact that he was young, and that it was his first tour representing Pakistan. The players must be more responsible, I will not tolerate dissent.'

Walcott, in fact, tolerated a remarkable amount of dissent from the tourists during the match, and several players were fortunate not to be indicted along with Rashid.

Javed Miandad, the captain, did his best to keep the lid from boiling over, with only partial success, but it was enough to earn him a compliment from Walcott 'on the way he himself played the game, and for the manner in which he tried to calm his players, particularly during the incident involving Latif'.

Pakistan's manager, Intikhab Alam, said: 'I think Javed did a tremendous job in making sure that nothing really happened today.'