Watch: West Indies championship game called off midway

A very unpleasant scene took place at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua when one of the West Indies batters was struck on his helmet by a fiery bouncer from Jayden Seales. The batter collapsed on the ground during the 2026 Championship match between the Leeward Islands and Trinidad & Tobago.

While getting hit by the short ball is not uncommon in the red-ball games, the pitch was deemed dangerous as the length delivery bounced invariably. The line was towards the head of the batter, who stood up and kicked the helmet in frustration.

West Indies championship match gets called off due to dangerous pitch

The umpire decided to abandon the game early on the third morning after Jeremiah Louis was struck. Twenty-seven wickets have fallen across the first 147 overs of the four-day clash, one of only 12 fixtures in a reduced domestic first-class season.

Leeward was 96 runs ahead in the third innings with two wickets in hand when the batter was hit on the helmet. Louis received medical attention before he was stretchered off and taken to the hospital in an ambulance. After a lengthy chat, the match referee and the groundsmen informed the captains, Joshua Da Silva and Justin Greave, that the game was abandoned.

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“I just hope that everything goes well for him and [there is] no really serious damage. It was really devastating to see exactly what took place this morning. To me, it wasn't given the preparation of a four-day wicket, hence we see so many players get damaged. The pitch has been misbehaving throughout the entire three days.” Leeward coach, Wilden Cornwall, expressed in a statement.

Jayden Seales had taken all seven wickets to fall on the second innings of the side, in addition to three in their first innings. T&T coach, Rayed Emrit, said it was disappointing to see the game being abandoned and questioned why it took until the third morning for the decision to be taken.

The CWI also put a statement on the surface and advised that no matches are scheduled to be held at the ground until the Championship Final, set for May 17-20.

“Following discussions with the curator, it was determined [by the umpires] 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.” The statement addressed.

“It is also important to note that the surface used for the Leeward Islands vs Trinidad and Tobago match is one of six pitches available at the venue and differs from the one used for match one of the Guyana vs Windward Islands series.” The statement added.