West Indies captain Jason Holder suspended for Hamilton Test

Already 0-1 down in the two-match Test series against New Zealand, West Indies received a huge blow as captain Jason Holder has been suspended for one Test and fined 60 percent of his match fee for slow over-rate. The rest of the Windies players have all been fined 30 percent for the same as they lost the opening Test at Wellington by an innings and 67 runs.

On-field umpires Rod Tucker, Ian Gould, third umpire Bruce Oxenford, who all belong to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and fourth official Wayne Knights laid the charge. The suspension was imposed by match referee Chris Broad, who ruled that the visitors were three overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

This is a result of the fact that this is his second over-rate related offence in the last 12 months. In the Test against Pakistan at Jamaica in April 2017, he was found guilty of a minor over-rate offence. According to Article 2.5.1, when the team is "up to (and including) five overs short of the Minimum Over rate" in a Test match, it is a “Minor Over Rate Offence”.

A release from ICC read: "In accordance with Article 2.5.1 and Appendix 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Players Support Personnel, which deals with minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount."

Since this was his second offence, the Windies captain will be suspended for the second Test against New Zealand, which begins on December 9.