Alex Hales "deserves his fine" for dissent, according to England's assistant coach, Paul Farbrace. Hales was fined 15% of his match fee for showing dissent to the TV umpire during the first day of the fourth Investec Test at The Oval.
Having struggled to hide his frustration after he was adjudged to have been caught at midwicket by Yasir Shah off the bowling of Mohammad Amir - Hales believed the ball had bounced before Yasir claimed it - he then visited Joel Wilson in the third umpire's room and questioned the decision. Hales was then said to have made "inappropriate comments as he was leaving the room" according to an ICC statement.
As a result, Hales was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC code of conduct, which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an international match". Hales admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee, Richie Richardson. There was no need for a formal hearing.
While the England team management have no intention of taking further action against Hales, they have made it clear that his behaviour was inappropriate, unacceptable and unwise.
"He deserves his fine," Farbrace said. "You can't go into the match referee's office during a game and have heated exchange as Alex did. He deserves to be fined. We can't support any player going in and having a crack at third umpire. However frustrated he might be, it is the wrong thing to do. The ICC have done the right thing today.
"Going into the match referee's office was the wrong thing to do. We would not have advised him to go and share his thoughts. It was not the brightest thing to do and it wasn't going to make any difference. And mid-game, it's not the best thing to upset umpires."
Hales has endured a poor series. He is averaging just 19.00 after seven innings with a top-score of 54. Broadcast footage of his dismissal at The Oval was unclear and did not clarify whether the catch had been taken cleanly.
Hales' mood will not have been improved after he dropped a relatively straightforward chance offered by Yasir to gully on the second morning of the Test. Later in the session he was seen to mock Azhar Ali - Hales feigned crying - after it appeared the batsman had complained to the on-field umpires over comments made to him by the England fielders.
Farbrace was not concerned by Hales' on field actions - "there are always exchanges on the field"- but felt a "line had been crossed" when he went to remonstrate with the TV umpire.
"It's hard to support that player in that situation," Farbrace said. "The last thing you need to do is go in and kick the door off its hinges and tell the third umpire he's made a mistake. It's not going to make any difference, other than to your bank balance."