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SRI LANKA captain Arjuna Ranatunga says he was only following orders when he led a walk-off protest against Australian umpire Ross Emerson in last Saturday's one-day match against England in Adelaide.

Ranatunga's action after Emerson no-balled Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing led to him being found guilty of misconduct by the International Cricket Council, who gave him a six-match suspended ban and fined him 75 per cent of his match fee.

Ranatunga said: ``My actions in approaching the boundary line were consistent with the instructions I had received from the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka to consult with them should Murali be no-balled.

``The implications of the decision of umpire Emerson were potentially far-reaching and beyond my authority as captain of the Sri Lankan team, where my responsibilities are limited to the team's on-field performance.''

Ranatunga, who also had a heated, finger-pointing exchange with Emerson, said he was sorry for the embarrassment he had caused to ``the opposition team, members of the public and officials'' but felt it was his duty to defend Muralitharan.

He added: ``As captain, I acknowledge and understand my responsibility to uphold the spirit as well as the laws of the game.''