Pietersen fined over Big Bash mic comment

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has been charged with a code of conduct breach in Australia`s Twenty20 Big Bash League and fined, Cricket Australia said on Friday.

He was reported for breaching CA`s code of conduct in making a comment detrimental to the interests of cricket while playing for Melbourne Stars against the Perth Scorchers in a BBL semi-final in Perth on January 24.

The offence occurred during the Scorchers` innings, when batsman Sam Whiteman was given not out following an appeal for caught behind by the Stars, and Pietersen commented on the umpire`s decision while wearing a microphone on-field.

Under the code procedure, match referee David Talalla considered the umpires` report and the proposed sanction was a Aus$5,000 ($3,800) fine.

Pietersen accepted the charge but elected to dispute the sanction. The match referee set a hearing for Thursday and announced the decision was upheld Friday.

Pietersen now has 48 hours to decide whether to appeal and have the matter heard by a CA code of conduct commissioner.

Source: Independent Online