Jayden Seales (left) and Kevin Sinclair.
West Indies bowlers Jayden Seales and Kevin Sinclair have been found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in their recently concluded second Test match against Bangladesh.
Seales has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee after being found to have breached article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”
In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Seales’ disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.
The incident occurred in the first over of Bangladesh’s second batting innings when Seales made an inappropriate and overly aggressive gesture towards the opposition’s dressing room after taking a wicket.
Sinclair has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee after he was found to have breached Article 2.4 of the Code of Conduct, which relates to "disobeying an Umpire’s instruction during an International Match.”
In addition to his fine, one demerit point has been added to Sinclair’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.
The incident took place when Sinclair ignored the instructions of the on-field umpires to stop using language deemed aggressive and harsh towards the Bangladesh batters.
Seales and Sinclair admitted their respective offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.
On-field umpires Asif Yaqoob and Kumar Dharmasena, third umpire Nitin Menon, and fourth umpire Zahid Bassarath levelled the charges.
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.
NB: When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points, and a player is banned.
In addition to that, two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player.
Finally, demerit points to remain on a player or player support personnel’s disciplinary record for a period of twenty-four (24) months from their imposition, following which they will be expunged.
Archer must build fitness to 'handle extra pressure' of Test cricket, says Stokes
Ben Stokes says Jofra Archer must build up his fitness to handle the "extra pressure of a Test match", after the pace bowler extended his contract with England up to September 2026.
Archer has not played a Test since 2021, with back and elbow injuries severely hampering his progress.
England have carefully managed the 29-year-old's involvement, and he has been part of their white-ball setup since May.
Although, it remains to be seen whether he will be involved in next year's five-match series with India or the Ashes, after he was signed by Rajasthan Royals in the recent Indian Premier League auction.
That means he will miss the early part of the 2025 County Championship season with Sussex due to an overlap in the competitions, and his red-ball action will be limited ahead of the series with India.
"The excitement is understandable around Jofra," Stokes said. "The best thing is he is back on the field playing.
"The injuries and surgeries he has gone through could have ended careers, so there is no rushing back.
"No doubt he is going so well at the moment. He will have to build the body up to handle the extra pressure of a Test match."
Jacob Bethell has also signed a new two-year deal with England, while seamers Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse have extended for another year.
England unchanged for Wellington Test as Pope keeps wicket again
England have selected an unchanged team for the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, with Ollie Pope again deputising as wicketkeeper.
England triumphed by eight wickets in the first of three Tests in Christchurch, with debutant Jacob Bethell hitting an unbeaten half-century to guide the tourists over the line in their second innings.
Pope, meanwhile, was faultless behind the stumps as he stood in for the injured Jordan Cox and also made 77 with the bat in the first innings, hitting his first half-century since September.
Team-mate Chris Woakes told BBC Sport he was impressed by the way Pope had taken on the role, saying: "They always say when you don't notice a keeper he's done a good job.
"Ollie certainly did that. He was brilliant last week, stepping into a role he hasn't done a lot of.
"Obviously he can keep and has done previously for England, but to step up at short notice like that and do the job he did was fantastic.
"For him to score runs just shows his character, putting his hand up for the team without any fuss and cracking on. To move to number six, get such a good score for us and contribute to a big partnership was massive."
Captain Ben Stokes, meanwhile, keeps his place as an all-rounder after overcoming an injury scare in the first Test,
England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Bangladesh record historic win on day four in Jamaica
Bangladesh have registered their first Test win in the West Indies in 15 years after beating the hosts by 101 runs in Jamaica to draw their two-match series.
Spinner Taijul Islam was named player of the match after bowling figures of 5-50 on the fourth day, which helped ensure that the hosts were bowled out for 185 on Tuesday.
The other wickets on day four were taken by Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana – who had taken a five-for himself in West Indies' earlier innings.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh had Jaker Ali (91) to thank for scoring 62 of Bangladesh's 75 runs in the morning session.
Jaker later took a ping off the top of his helmet from Jayden Seales but, fortunately for the visitors, was cleared to carry on. Though when Islam (14) and Mominul Haque (0) went in quickfire wickets, the outlook was gloomier.
Jaker, though, went into attack mode and helped Bangladesh to a total of 268 all out, giving West Indies 287 to chase.
Kaven Hodge (55) top-scored, while captain Kraigg Brathwaite (43) was the only other batsman to make more than 20 as West Indies found it impossible to build any momentum as they were skittled for 185.
As a result of the victory, West Indies have replaced Bangladesh at the bottom of the World Test Championship table, although both are out of contention of making the final.
Data debrief: Plenty of reasons to be cheerful for Bangladesh after historic win
The five-for taken by Islam in West Indies' second inning in this Test was his 15th five-wicket haul in Tests, but his first in the Caribbean for 10 years.
Batsman Jaker's 91 helped his side to victory on the fourth day, while it was also his best ever Test score.
The result itself, meanwhile, marks the first time in history that Bangladesh have won three away Tests in a calendar year.
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