West Indies pacer Jayden Seales fined 25 percent match fees for code of conduct breach

West Indies pacer Jayden Seales fined 25 percent match fees for code of conduct breach (AP Photo)

West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales was on Sunday fined 25 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point by the ICC for breaching its Level 1 Code of Conduct during the opening day of the second Test against India here.

The incident occurred on Friday 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 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'," an ICC media release stated.

"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 release added.

The previous demerit point for Seales was in a Test match against Bangladesh in December 2024.

Seales contested the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft, 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," the ICC release stated.

On-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Alex Wharf and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan had 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," the ICC said.