Gayle Fined For 'Over the Top' Banter

West Indies opener Chris Gayle has been fined 30 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team's ODI in the ICC Champions Trophy against Australia in Mumbai on Wednesday.

According to the ICC, Gayle was found guilty of a breach of C1 of the Code, failing to "conduct play within the spirit of the game," by match referee Mike Procter. Australian batsman Michael Clarke was found not guilty of the same charge in a separate hearing.

"What started off as banter between the two players got out of hand and Chris Gayle went over the top in his reactions," said Mr Procter after he reached his decisions.

"We do not want robots on the field and we want to ensure players play with enthusiasm and passion. We saw a great deal of that during an excellent match on Wednesday but there is a line between what is acceptable and what is not and Chris crossed it."

The charges were laid by the two on-field umpires, Mark Benson and Rudi Koertzen, as well as third umpire Aleem Dar, and the trio attended both hearings.

The hearing involving Gayle was also attended by West Indies team manager Tony Howard, vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and team advisor Clive Lloyd.

Clarke's hearing was attended by Australia team manager Steve Bernard, coach John Buchanan and Ricky Ponting, the captain.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee.

For Level 1 breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct the ICC Match Referee's decision is final and binding.