March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

DHAKA, March 24: Bangladesh cricket captain Mohammad Ashraful was fined on Monday for slapping a spectator who called his recent performance against South Africa “rubbish,” an official said.

The 23-year-old batsman, who had to be escorted away by police, hit the fan last week after he verbally abused him by chanting “Ashraful bhua” (Ashraful rubbish) as he trained at an indoor stadium in the capital Dhaka.

“He appeared at a disciplinary hearing of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in relation to his involvement in the incident,” the board’s spokesman Rabeed Imam said.

“The board concluded that Ashraful’s action was in gross violation of the BCB Code of Conduct and decided to deduct 25 percent from his retainer for the month of March 2008,” he added.

Ashraful later apologised for the incident. “His latest act supported the growing concern that the little right-hander is just not strong enough to tackle the intricacies of a post that requires a cool head,” the English-language newspaper Daily Star said immediately after the incident.

—Agencies