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Hogg let off, Lynn guilty of BBL breach

Lynn and Nicole Bolton accept sanctions from Cricket Australia, Renegades spinner found not guilty after hearing

KFC BBL stars Chris Lynn and Brad Hogg have both been charged for breaching Cricket Australia's Code of Conduct, but the Renegades spinner has been found not guilty for his send-off of Perth Scorchers’ David Willey last week.

Brisbane Heat batsman Lynn was charged with a Level 1 Code of Conduct breach for "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings" in his side's match at Adelaide Oval against the Strikers on New Year's Eve.

Lynn was given out caught behind off the bowling of spinner Rashid Khan in the Heat's innings, but replays showed he didn't make contact with the ball and instead hit the ground before the ball was caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Strikers delighted as Lynn goes for a duck

The decision sparked calls from national selector and former Australia batsman Mark Waugh for the Decision Review System to be introduced to the game, a move Cricket Australia says is unlikely at this stage.

Perth Scorchers batter Nicole Bolton has also been charged for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during her side's Rebel WBBL match against Sydney Sixers last week.

Both Lynn and Bolton accepted their sanctions and no hearings were required.

Bolton unhappy with LBW decision against Sixers

Meanwhile, Hogg was charged with a Level 1 breach for giving Scorchers allrounder Willey a send off in their match at Etihad Stadium last Friday.

Hogg bowled the left-hander for 31 in the Scorchers innings and the fired-up veteran had plenty to say as the Englishman left the ground.

Superstar Hogg puts the Scorchers in a spin

The veteran denied the charge and after a hearing before Match Referee Bob Stratford, he was found not guilty.

The controversial dismissal of Lynn again triggered the debate regarding the introduction of the DRS, which is not used in the fast-paced BBL tournament.

Given Lynn's status as the tournament's most dangerous batsman, his dismissal in Adelaide was a turning point in the contest and quickly prompted calls for the DRS to be introduced, both on social media and in the commentary box, with Waugh suggesting the implementation of the technology was simply a "matter of time".

"If you can do it quickly, yes. Give them 30 seconds, maybe," Waugh said. "One look at a Hot Spot would clarify that pretty quickly, wouldn't it? It's not to be. Chris Lynn had to cop it. He did accept it.

"It was a big blow, a telling blow for the Brisbane Heat."

On one hand, Waugh's suggestion that the introduction of DRS into the Big Bash is inevitable appears to make sense; in February-March last year the technology was used in the knockout stages of the Pakistan Super League, the first such time it had been used in a domestic T20 tournament, while last October, each team was given one review in the India-Australia T20I series, the first time DRS had been used for T20 internationals.

The ICC also last year agreed that DRS would be used at all future World T20 events, beginning with this year's Women's World T20 in the Caribbean in November.

However, Cricket Australia have indicated the move is at this stage unlikely, with the emphasis remaining on Big Bash matches being played without what are deemed unnecessary delays.

"The number one priority with the BBL and WBBL is to present a compact format that entertains from start to finish," a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.

"There would need to be a compelling reason to implement anything that counters that objective and at this stage, we feel that DRS would open up the potential for delay, with the review process as it stands."

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