Second Test against India: West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales fined 25 percent of match fee

Why was Seales fined?

Seales was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match," the cricket body said in a statement.

In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Seales’ disciplinary record, taking his total demerit points to two in a 24-month period. The previous demerit point for Seales was in a Test match against Bangladesh in December 2024.

Friday’s incident occurred in the 29th over of India’s first innings, when Seales fielded the ball on his follow-through and threw it at batter Yashaswi Jaiswal, hitting him on the pads.

Seales contested the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so a formal hearing was required.

Seales contested that he was attempting a run out. But the Match Referee, who referred to replay clips showing the incident from different angles, concluded that the throw was unnecessary and inappropriate, hitting the batter on the pads when he was within the crease.

On-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Alex Wharf and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan levelled the charge.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.