With a spell of 15.5-10-5-4, Jayden Seales entered the record books during the Kingston Test match against Bangladesh.
The West Indies bowled out Bangladesh for 164 in the second Test of the two-match series, at Kingston. The tourists were 84-2 at one point before Shamar Joseph (3-49) rocked them with a triple-wicket blow. They recovered to 139-6 before collapsing against Seales.
With a 15-over cut-off, Seales’s figures (0.31 an over) are now the second-most economical in the history of Test cricket, after Bapu Nadkarni’s famous 32-27-5-0.
Until his spell, Umesh Yadav’s 0.42 (21-16-9-3) were the best – both among pacers and among any bowler since that Nadkarni spell. Apart from Umesh, the only other 21st-century entry in the top ten is Nathan Lyon’s 0.45, set across his 22-17-10-0.
Most economical spells in Test cricket (90 balls)
| Bowler | Spell | Economy | Team | Opposition | Venue | Season |
| Bapu Nadkarni | 32-27-5-0 | 0.15 | India | England | Madras/Chennai | 1963-64 |
| Jayden Seales | 15.5-10-5-4 | 0.31 | West Indies | Bangladesh | Kingston | 2024-25 |
| Jim Laker | 14.1-9-7-2 (8-ball) | 0.37 | England | South Africa | Cape Town | 1956-57 |
| Jim Burke | 15-10-8-0 (8-ball) | 0.40 | Australia | South Africa | Johannesburg | 1957-58 |
| David Allen | 19-15-8-1 | 0.42 | England | New Zealand | Christchurch | 1965-66 |
| Umesh Yadav | 21-16-9-3 | 0.42 | India | South Africa | Delhi | 2015-16 |
| Maninder Singh | 20.4-12-9-3 | 0.43 | India | England | Lord’s | 1986 |
| Jim Laker | 18-14-8-3 | 0.44 | England | Australia | The Oval | 1956 |
| Derek Underwood | 18-15-8-2 | 0.44 | England | Australia | Lord’s | 1968 |
| Nathan Lyon | 22-17-10-0 | 0.45 | Australia | South Africa | Cape Town | 2014-15 |
Eight-ball overs mentioned as and where applicable
- Seales is the only one in the above list with more than three wickets.
- The corresponding record in women’s Test cricket is Raelee Thompson’s 0.43 during her 19-11-11-1 (eight-ball overs) for Australia against New Zealand at Melbourne in 1978-79.
With the same 90-ball cut-off, Seales also has the best average (1.25) in a single spell in Test cricket history. The next best, of exactly 2, is shared by Derek Underwood (11.6-7-12-6 – eight-ball overs), Venkatapathy Raju (17.5-13-12-6), and Shane Warne (15-12-8-4).
The West Indies were 70-1 at stumps on day one. They trail by 94 runs.
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