West Indies legendary cricketer Brian Lara has ridiculed the International Cricket Council's decision to penalize both Shane Watson and Wahaz Riaz over engaging in a fierce verbal exchange during Australia's six wicket win over Pakistan in the World Cup quarterfinal in Adelaide.
Pakistan left-arm pacer Riaz produced one of the blistering spells of pace bowling against Australia, where he peppered the Australian all-rounder with a bouncer barrage after scalping David Warner and skipper Michael Clarke.
Reflecting on the ICC's decision, Lara said that it was ridiculous what the end result was, admitting that they were all entertainers and that to him was one of the highlights of the World Cup, News.com.au reported.
Lara further said that it was just uncalled for, insisting that they needed this in a sport that people are running away from, especially 50-over cricket.
Lara admitted that he loved the exchange, and it was above board as far as he was concerned, claiming that he wanted to meet Riaz and he would pay the fine.
However, the ICC stated that Watson ignored the umpires' instructions and verbally engaged with Wahab, who subsequently followed through towards the batsman and used aggressive and abusive language.
Match referee Ranjan Madugalle observed that though it was an enthralling contest between Shane and Wahab, in the closing stages of the match, both players crossed that fine line between intense competition and unacceptable behavior.