Sophie Ecclestone and Kiran Navgire admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.2
Match 15 of the Women’s Premier League saw the UP Warriorz take on the Delhi Capitals. The UP Warriorz skipper Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to bat first and registered a 138-run total thanks to a 59-run knock from the bat of Deepti Sharma. Notable contributions came in from the skipper herself and Grace Harris.
Chasing a modest total, Delhi Capitals batting faltered apart from Meg Lanning as other batters failed to contribute towards the total. Some of the batters got a start but failed to convert it into a match-winning knock. While Meg Lanning led the scoring for the Capitals with a 46-ball 60, Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for the UP Warriorz as she claimed 4 scalps giving away only 19 runs in her quota of 4 overs, which included a hat-trick.
While the bowling of Saima Thakur was a big positive from the UP Warriorz perspective, it was down to Grace Harris bowling the final over with 10 runs needed and she did not disappoint, claiming 2 wickets and ensuring that UP Warriorz got over the line by the barest of margins, 1 run.
It was informed on the 10th of March, 2024, that Sophie Ecclestone and Kiran Navgire of the UP Warriorz were penalized 10% of their match fees for violating the WPL Code of Conduct during their match against the Delhi Capitals. The two were penalized for violating the WPL code of conduct article 2.2 during the Friday game.
An official statement from the tournament organizers read, “Both Sophie Ecclestone and Kiran Navgire admitted to the Level 1 offense under Article 2.2 which relates to the abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match.”
Article 2.2 includes any action(s) outside the course of normal cricket actions, such as hitting or kicking the wickets, and any action(s) which deliberately (i.e. intentionally), recklessly or negligently (in either case even if accidental) results in damage to the advertising boards, boundary fences, dressing room doors, mirrors, windows, and other fixtures and fittings. For example, this offense may be committed, without limitation, when a Player swings his/her bat vigorously in frustration and causes damage to an advertising board.