ENG vs PAK: ACU officials talk to umpire Richard Kettleborough over smartwatch incident

Richard Kettleborough, who is the on-field umpire officiating in the second Test between England and Pakistan 2nd Test at the Rose Bowl, has been spoken to by the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) for coming on to the field wearing a smartwatch.

As per ESPNCricinfo reports, the match official was seen wearing the watch during the opening session of the second Test between England and Pakistan.

The reports further claimed that the umpire did realise his error and immediately took the smartwatch off and reported the incident to the ACU, which considered the incident a minor violation of the regulations.

They then spoke to the umpire and reminded him of his obligations under the Player and Match Officials Area Regulations (PMOA).

In order to combat corruption in the game, players and officials are obliged to hand over their phones and any other transmitting devices to anti-corruption officials ahead of the start of play.

Earlier, Pakistan's players were spoken to by officials as some of them took the field wearing smartwatches during the Lord's Test of 2018.

Earlier this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had tightened its anti-corruption guidelines by banning players from wearing smartwatches on the field of play in all fixtures.

(With ANI Inputs)