The International Cricket Council (ICC) slapped a hefty fine on West Indies pacer Jayden Seales who picked up a fifer in the first innings of the Barbados Test against Australia for giving a fiery send-off to Pat Cummins after dismissing him. He was fined 15 per cent of his match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first day of the first Test of the three-match series.
As per ICC, Seales' disciplinary record has also been updated with one demerit point. This was the pacer's second offence in a 24-month period, so the 23-year-old now has two demerits in his kitty.
The speedster had earlier got one demerit point during a Test match against Bangladesh in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 3, 2024. The 23-year-old pacer was found guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. This particular Article is related to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
Because Seales admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Javagal Srinath, there was no need for a formal hearing.
He was charged by on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Nitin Menon, third umpire Adrian Holdstock, and fourth umpire Gregory Brathwaite levelled the charge.
It must be mentioned that 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.
The incident happened during the 55th over of Australia's first innings when Jayden Seales gestured in the direction of the pavilion after dismissing Pat Cummins.
Coming back to the first Test between Australia and West Indies, Australia reached the score of 92/4 at Stumps on Day 2, leading the hosts by 82 runs.
The Barbados Test has been marred by poor umpiring, and TV umpire Adrian Holdstock is at the centre of a storm after giving some controversial verdicts.
West Indies coach Daren Sammy even met match referee Srinath about the same. Speaking to reporters, the T20 World Cup-winning captain said he wants to have “consistency” when it comes to DRS calls.