Another Blow for West Indies; Star Player Punished for Breaching Code of Conduct

The West Indies Cricket Team is already having a difficult time on their tour of India as they have been outplayed by the hosts so far. Roston Chase and his team lost the first Test in Ahmedabad and were then asked to follow on during the second Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. They are clearly struggling to put up a good fight against one of the best cricket teams in the world.

However, the problems do not seem to end for the Caribbean boys as fast bowler Jayden Seales has come under a massive scanner for his antics during the ongoing second Test against the Indian national cricket team. It has resulted in a code of conduct breach which has forced the ICC to take take a big decision.

Jayden Seales Fined by ICC

West Indies quick, Jayden Seales, has been fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. The fast bowler has been docked 25 per cent of his match fee for his poor behaviour against the cricket articles during the game.

According to the ICC laws, he was found guilty of breaching Article 2.9. The law 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.”

Not only the fine, the ICC has also handed one demerit point to Seales and it will be added to his disciplinary record. This was his second demerit point in a 24-month period with the last coming during a Test match against Bangladesh in December 2024.

Why was Jayden Seales Fined?

In the 29th over of the Indian innings of IND vs WI 2nd Test when Yashasvi Jaiswal hit the ball back to him, Seales threw it back at the batter on his follow-through, hitting him on the pads. This didn’t go well with the officials with Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposing the sanctions.

On-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Alex Wharf and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan levelled the charge. Jayden Seales, however, wasn’t impressed by the sanctions and even protested against them. In a formal hearing for the Jayden Seales code of conduct breach, the West Indies pacer claimed that he threw the ball in order to attempt a run out.

The match referee showed him the clips from different angles and gave his verdict, saying that the throw was unnecessary and inappropriate, hitting the batter on the pads when he was within the crease. Hence, he was charged with Level 1 breach, which carries 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.”

Tough Outing for Jayden Seales

Seales bowled 22 overs in the innings and went wicketless, giving away 88 runs. He would be keen to make a strong comeback in the second innings of this match. However, it won't be easy as he will be bowling to one of the best batsmen in the world.

Coming to the match, India, posted 518 runs on the board while batting first on account of centuries by captain Shubman Gill (129*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (175). With the ball, the Indian bowlers ended the West Indies innings on 248, giving the team a lead of 270.