In what was his 100th T20I for Ireland, Andrew Balbirnie was fined 25 per cent of his match fee. The former team captain breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. The law refers to “disagreeing with a referee’s decision during an international match.” Andrew Balbirnie was fined after expressing his displeasure with the umpire’s decision during the 16th inning. The batsman was given LBW, but he became enraged at the umpire, claiming that the bat hit his gloves before hitting his pads.

According to the ICC, level 1 offenses “carries a minimum penalty of an official caution, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of the player’s match fee and one or two demerit points.”

As well as having 25% of his match fees docked, a demerit point was added to Andrew Balbirnie’s disciplinary record. It was his first offense in 24 months. The additional infraction could also get him suspended for a few games.

The charges against Andrew Balbirnie were brought by field umpires Bismillah Jan Shinwari and Izatullah Safi, third umpire Ahmed Shah Pakteen and fourth umpire Ahmed Shah Durrani. The cricketer admitted to the charges and there was no need for an official hearing. The sanctions were proposed by David Boon.

Andrew Balbirnie had a decent game with the bat and played a vital hand up top for his team. He scored 45 runs off 44 balls at a strike rate of around 100. His innings propelled Ireland to a total of 152 runs, but his effort went in vain as Ireland lost the game by 10 runs.

Brilliant match, very happy with our performance – Ireland captain Paul Stirling after the defeat

Ireland captain Paul Stirling spoke about the defeat his team suffered in the match against Afghanistan. He said it was a great match for them and there were a lot of positives for them. He talked about how his team is learning to play spin and is optimistic about winning the final game. He said:

“Brilliant game, very happy with our performance. Delany got us back into it when we thought we were out. Many positive things and looking forward to tomorrow. (Team Cohesion) It’s good, it’s something we have naturally and don’t need to work on. We know we only have one day left and hopefully we can close it with a win.

“They (Ireland’s seamers) bowled excellently up top, but Afghanistan did very well in the middle, a bit of a tit-for-tat. We’ve been working on it (playing spin) in the nets but it just hasn’t happened for us, they are world class bowlers, some of the best in the world, so it hasn’t happened for us. A really important position for us to come in and hit back sixes,” he concluded.