Waugh stands his ground during flashpoint

"I would love to have my say on the matter. It was a misunderstanding from my point of view."

Match referee Mike Denness was similarly prevented from commenting when he handed out punishments to six Indian players during last month's series in South Africa.

The resulting furor forced the ICC to consider whether to give players a right of appeal, whether there should be a code of conduct for referees, and whether referees should be allowed to explain their decisions to the media.

All this will be discussed at the next meeting of the ICC management committee meeting in March.

Waugh was handed the fine from match referee Ranjan Madugalle for showing reluctance to leave the field after being run out.

Australian umpire Darrell Hair gave Waugh out without calling for the assistance of third umpire Bob Parry.

Ten more runs would have seen his 28th Test century, which would have left him one behind Don Bradman and one above Allan Border and Sachin Tendulkar.

Instead he now owns the world record for scores in the 90s, with 10 - one more than former teammate Michael Slater.

"In handing out his judgement, the match referee reminded Stephen of his responsibilities as a premier test match captain to present the game in a good light," the Australian Cricket Board said in a staement.

"He also recognised there was no malice in Stephen's actions."