England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler has finally apologized for hurling abuses at Vernon Philander during the final day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Buttler was caught by the stump-mic when he called Philander a “F***ing Knobhead.” However, the wicket-keeper has questioned whether television viewers should have access to the audio from stump microphones.
Buttler was fined 15% of his match fee and received one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching ICC’s code of conduct for players, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity during an international match.”
“I fully understand that as role models, we have a duty to behave in a certain way. I would like to apologize and understand that is not the way to behave. I take the slap on the wrist. It was the heat of the moment and a bit of red mist. But it is all done and can now be swept under the carpet so we can move on,” said Buttler.
Buttler also said that in Test cricket, emotions run high, and for players, these things don’t mean anything, but for the viewers, it goes out as a bad message.
“It is a tough one, we understand that it adds to the viewer experience to have stump mics to hear a bit of what goes on. But I think the players like the thinking of what happens on the field, stays on the field and isn’t heard necessarily by everyone at home,” added Buttler.
“It is easy to say vocal is the way to do things, but your actions also speak loud as well. One of the good things in that last game was the way we hunted as a team. We have a number of young guys under the age of 24 in the side, and they were fantastic at creating energy around the bat and putting pressure on the opposition. The two games have played in a great spirit… They have been hard-fought, and the series is set up really well at 1-1,” Buttler added further.
England won the second Test in Cape Town by 189-runs to level the four-match series 1-1.
The third Test will start from January 16 onwards at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.
