South Africa's Ashwell Prince, Kyle Verreynne reprimanded by ICC for dissent in Australia test

South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince and player Kyle Verreynne have been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct on the third day of the third Test against Australia in Cape Town.

Prince and Verreynne were reprimanded for the same incident, which occurred after the dismissal of opener Marques Ackerman in South Africa’s second innings.

Ackerman tried to review the caught verdict, but the umpires ruled that his appeal for a review did not come within the prescribed 15 seconds and thus could not be taken.

As the batter walked towards the boundary line, Prince shouted repeatedly at the umpires that there was still time left for the appeal to be taken, while Verreynne, who was not in the playing eleven, asked Ackerman to remain inside the boundary line, which caused a delay in him leaving the field.

"Prince and Verreynne were found to have breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an international match," ICC said in a statement.

It added, "One demerit point has been added to each of their disciplinary records, as these were their first offences in a 24-month period."

Prince and Verreynne admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Javagal Srinath of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for formal hearings.

On-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough, third umpire Chris Gaffaney, and fourth umpire Lubabalo Gcuma levelled the charges.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

A stellar fightback on Day 4, backed by a hostile bowling performance on the final day of the Cape Town Test, guided South Africa to a famous 2-1 series win over Australia.

The victory helped South Africa overtake Australia to become the No. 1 ranked side in the ICC Men's Test Team Rankings and also pushed Australia down to the No.3 spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2025/27 standings.