ENGvsAUS Ashes 2023 1st Test: Moeen Ali fined for drying his hand in Edgbaston

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England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who has come out of retirement to play his first Test match since 2021, has been fined 25 percent of his match fee for spraying a drying agent on his hand while fielding near the boundary rope.

The incident happened moments before Moeen Ali came to bowl the 90th over Australia's innings on Day 2. However, the ICC has deemed that the "drying agent" applied was not used to change the condition of the ball.

Moeen took the wickets of Travis Head and Cameron Green to register figures of 2-124 from 29 overs on day two. He was lured out of retirement by captain Ben Stokes after Jack Leach was ruled out due to a back injury.

"Ali was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game," an ICC statement read after Moeen breached Level One of the ICC Code of Conduct.

"In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Ali's disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.

"The incident occurred in the 89th over of Australia's innings, when Ali sprayed a drying agent on his bowling hand at the boundary line before coming on to bowl the next over, thus defying the umpires' pre-series instructions about not using anything on their hands without prior approval.

"Ali admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing," it added.

The 36-year-old, who recently won the IPL 2023 with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), is struggling with a blister on the index finger of his bowling hand.

Notably, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was also fined earlier this year for applying a soothing cream to the index finger on his bowling hand during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.