WI's Jayden Seales fined for inappropriate throw at Yashasvi Jaiswal
What's the story
West Indies pacer Jayden Seales has been fined 25% of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching its Level 1 Code of Conduct. The incident transpired on Day 1 of the ongoing 2nd Test against India at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. Seales also received a demerit point, which is his second within two years. His first was against Bangladesh in December 2024.
Code breach
Seales's action deemed dangerous by ICC
The incident in question happened during the 29th over of India's first innings. Seales fielded the ball on his follow-through and threw it at Jaiswal, hitting him on the pads. The ICC found that Seales had breached Article 2.9 of its Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which prohibits "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."
Sanction contest
Seales claimed he was trying to run out Jaiswal
Seales contested the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft, leading to a formal hearing. He claimed that he was trying to run Jaiswal out. However, after reviewing replay clips from different angles, the match referee determined that Seales's throw was unnecessary and inappropriate as it hit the batter on his pads while he was within the crease.
ICC guidelines
Level 1 breaches carry minimum penalty of an official reprimand
The ICC clarified that Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50% of a player's match fee, and up to two demerit points. The charge against Seales was laid by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Alex Wharf, and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan.
Information
Wicketless in first innings
Seales was wicketless in the first innings as India declared on 518/5 in 134.2 overs. He conceded 88 runs in 22 overs, including two maidens. Meanwhile, Jomel Warrican and skipper Roston Chase shared four wickets.