London, Sep 9 : England fast bowler James Anderson on Sunday was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second day of the fifth Test against India here at the Oval.

Anderson was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an International Match".

In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of the fast bowler, for whom it was the first offence since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016.

The incident happened in the 29th over of India's innings on Saturday when Anderson snatched his cap and jumper from umpire Kumar Dharmasena and then spoke to him in an aggressive manner following an unsuccessful LBW review against India skipper Virat Kohli.

Anderson admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson, third umpire Bruce Oxenford, all from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, and fourth umpire Tim Robinson.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee, and one or two demerit points.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.

“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.

Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.

“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”

The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.

On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.

Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.

“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.

Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.

“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”

Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.