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Player hit on the helmet by Windies pacer Jayden Seales; match abandoned due to a ‘dangerous pitch’

Seales’ delivery kicked up and hit Jeremiah Louis in the side of the head. He collapsed after the impact.

Updated on: Apr 22, 2026, 08:04:35 IST
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A domestic cricket match in the West Indies has been abandoned following the pitch becoming dangerous all of a sudden at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium. It was a West Indies Championship bilateral series match between Leeward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

Thankfully, the batsman is in a stable condition now. Jayden Seales played in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka recently. (PTI)
Thankfully, the batsman is in a stable condition now. Jayden Seales played in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka recently. (PTI)

In the first session of the third day, Leeward Islands’ Jeremiah Louis was hit on the helmet, after which he was attended to by the medical men at the venue. However, fearing a concussion, he was taken later to a nearby hospital. He is understood to be in a stable condition now.

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The fast bowler who hit Louis was West Indies seamer Jayden Seales, whose delivery kicked up and hit Louis in the side of the head. The batsman collapsed before removing his helmet and walking out in pain. Leeward Islands were 140/7 at the point, with all seven wickets having been taken by Seales.

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Cricket West Indies later issued a media release in which it discussed the matter at length. “Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced that the second match of the Leeward Islands vs Trinidad and Tobago bilateral series in the 2026 West Indies Championship has been abandoned as a draw due to dangerous pitch conditions at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium.

“Play was halted on the first session of the third day after the pitch began to exhibit unpredictable and uneven behaviour, raising serious concerns for player safety. During this period, Leeward Islands player Jeremiah Louis was struck while batting. He was immediately attended to by medical personnel and subsequently transported to hospital to be evaluated for a possible concussion and is reported to be in stable condition.

“The decision to abandon the match was made in accordance with the official playing conditions governing the competition. Under these conditions, when on-field umpires determine that it is dangerous or unreasonable for play to continue, play must be stopped, and the CWI Match Referee consulted.

“Following discussions with the curator, it was determined that the pitch could not be safely repaired without creating an unfair advantage and was therefore deemed unfit to resume, resulting in the match being abandoned as a draw. Both teams will be awarded points earned up until the abandonment of the contest in accordance with the championship’s playing conditions.

“CWI further advises that no matches are scheduled at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium until the Championship Final, set for May 17–20, and confirms that all necessary resources and expertise will be deployed to ensure the preparation of a safe and competitive playing surface for that fixture,” it read.

  • Prateek Srivastava
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Prateek Srivastava

    Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age.   In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there.   After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month.   Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser.   While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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