WATCH: Carlos Brathwaite penalised for throwing ball at batter

Birmingham Bears captain Carlos Brathwaite was penalised for “reckless” behaviour after an incident during his team’s loss against Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast earlier this week. Brathwaite  fielded a ball in his follow through, hit by Wayne Madsen, and turned around and purportedly threw the ball at the stumps to try and effect a run-out. Madsen, however, was retreating towards his crease and got in the way before the ball deflected off him.

Brathwaite immediately apologized to Madsen by raising his hand, but the batter was unimpressed even as his partner Shan Masood called him through for a run. Madsen looked immediately at the square leg umpire, and Brathwaite looked at the umpire on his end, explaining that he was looking to run the batter out instinctively and not looking to cause harm. Both the batter and, eventually, the umpires overruled this and penalised his team five runs. Brathwaite was found to have committed a Level 2 offence under the MCC Laws pertaining to ‘Unfair Play’.

“The umpires deemed Carlos Brathwaite’s throw reckless and that is what it was,” Madsen told the ECB Reporters Network after the game. “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.”

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