West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been charged for language used during the third test against England on Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said.
Gabriel’s comment to Joe Root was not audible to television viewers but according to British broadcaster Sky Sports the England captain was heard replying to the bowler: “Don’t use it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with being gay”.
Umpires Rod Tucker and Kumar Dharmasena spoke to Gabriel afterwards and he was charged with breaching Article 2.13 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct on Tuesday.
“The charge, which was laid by match umpires, will now be dealt with by Match Referee Jeff Crowe,” the governing body said in a statement on Tuesday. “Until the proceedings have concluded, the ICC will not comment further.”
Stump mics had picked up an interaction between Gabriel and the England batsmen, which ended when Root stating that “there’s nothing wrong with being gay”.
Richard Pybus, the Windies’ interim coach, later stated that he was unaware of what was said on the field since nothing was reported to him but promised to address the matter should the comments be “untoward”.
“Nothing has been reported to me. But if a comment was made, we’ll review it. And, if it was untoward, we’ll be addressing it.”
