Faisalabad, November 22:

Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been banned for one Test and two one-day internationals for damaging the pitch during the second Test against England, it was announced on Monday. “Afridi pleaded guilty to damaging the pitch during the second-day play and attended a hearing conducted by match referee Roshan Mahanama,” the ICC said in a statement. The ICC’s decision means Afridi will now miss the third and final Test at Lahore next week and the first two one-dayers of the five-match series against England. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel, third umpire Nadeem Ghauri and fourth umpire Iftikhar Malik. Video evidence was used during the hearing, the ICC said. The hearing was also attended by Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Bob Woolmer. Afridi, 25, was charged with a Level 3 offence under C 1 of the ICC Code. The player has a right of appeal, to be launched in writing within 24 hours.

In a separate hearing, Afridi’s teammate Shoaib Akhtar was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC code of conduct. Fast bowler Akhtar pleaded guilty to breaching a section of the code which relates to manufacturers logos on equipment. “Both teams had been reminded of the regulations relating to manufacturers logos before the Test series began, but despite that fact the logos around the wrist-bands of each of Akhtars gloves were found to be in breach of those regulations when he batted on Monday,” the ICC said.