[Imtiazk]

Now we are getting into deeper troubled waters.

According to Cricinfo:

Ponting was found guilty of dissent by the match referee, Jeff Crowe, in a hearing after the second day's play on Monday. He was found to have breached 1.3 of the ICC Code which relates to "Showing dissent at an umpire's decision by action or verbal abuse."

In explaining his decision, Crowe said: "Although I have sympathy for Ricky I cannot accept his move towards the on-field umpires as they made a move towards resuming play.
"He did not ask for the third umpire to be consulted but when he made that move and spoke to the officials I believe his involvement played a part in prompting the referral. That is a breach of the ICC's Test match playing conditions, which states that players may not appeal to the umpire to use the replay system."

What the hell is Crowe upto:

1. He [ Ponting ] showed dissent at an umpire's decision by action [ I am assuming no verbal abuse was involved ] - that is official

2. Despite his "sympathy" , Crowe could not accept his "move" towards the umpires as they moved to resume play [ i.e. after giving Aftab not out presumably ]

3. Crowe says Ponting did not ask for a referral but his "involvement" prompted the referral.

So who took the decision to refer ? Howell, presumably [ since, he had accepted Rahman's decision earlier ]

If you take Crowe's words literally , Ponting is being fined because Howell referred the matter the second time [ since Ponting did not ask for a referral ]. In other words, Ponting is paying 25% of his match fees because his involvement led Howell to make a mistake.

Howell is an "elite" umpire, by the way.

Crowe has got into this muddle because he is having to protect three persons:

Rahman, Ponting and Howell. And you cannot square a circle.