West Indies star Carlos Brathwaite, who is leading Birmingham Bears in the ongoing T20 Blast 2022, was penalised for ‘reckless’ behaviour after being hit with five penalty runs for throwing the ball at Derbyshire‘s Wayne Madsen on Sunday.
The incident took place in the 13th over of Derbyshire’s chase at Edgbaston, when Madsen attempted to take a run but turned back quickly to return to his crease. Brathwaite, meanwhile, had picked up the ball in his follow-through and instinctively threw it at the stumps. But the white leather instead hit Madsen’s bat handle, with the ball deflecting away for an overthrow.
The Birmingham captain immediately raised his hand to issue an apology, indicating it was not intentional. However, Madsen was unimpressed as he gesticulated towards the square-leg umpire to have a look into the matter.
Brathwaite, meanwhile, was spotted complaining to the standing umpire that his throw was just a reaction to Madsen stepping out of his crease, but the two umpires, after a consultation, overruled the Caribbean star’s appeal and awarded Derbyshire five extra runs in a 160-run chase that they eventually completed with 11 balls to spare.
Here is the video:
Not ideal for Carlos Brathwaite 😬
A 5-run penalty was given against the Bears after this incident…#Blast22 pic.twitter.com/pXZLGcEGYa
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 19, 2022
Brathwaite was ultimately penalised for a Level 2 offence under the MCC Laws regarding ‘Unfair Play’. Notably, Law 42.3.1 deals with occurrences of “throwing the ball at a player, umpire or another person in an inappropriate and dangerous manner”. Though, the same rule is not part of the playing conditions in international cricket and other franchise T20 tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“The umpires deemed Carlos Brathwaite’s throw reckless, which is what it was. I was in my crease, and he didn’t even look. I know it’s a competitive game, but if that had hit me on the back of the head like the umpires said, there is real trouble. Because I was back in my crease before he had even released the ball, it was a bit reckless,” Madsen told the ECB Reporters as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
