England’s players not only lost valuable points but also faced financial penalties.
Despite clinching a thrilling win over India in a nail-biting contest, England couldn’t secure full points. The team led by Ben Stokes was docked two points in the ICC World Test Championship for maintaining a slow over-rate.
The ICC confirmed the points deduction in a press release on Wednesday. As a result, England slipped to third place in the points table.
England had defeated India by 22 runs in the Test that ended Monday at Lord’s, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. After that win, they had 24 points with a percentage of 66.67.
However, two days later, the ICC announced that England had been two overs short of the required rate. According to the rules, two points were deducted from their WTC tally — leaving them with 22 points and a percentage of 61.11.
Before the penalty, England were second with a 66.67 percentage. Now, Sri Lanka have moved up to second with the same percentage, while Australia remain on top with a perfect record after whitewashing West Indies.
Under ICC regulations, players are fined 5% of their match fee for every over short. Hence, alongside the points cut, England’s players were also fined 10% of their match fee.
Match referee Richie Richardson imposed the sanction based on the report from on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, along with TV umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.
Since England captain Ben Stokes accepted the charge, no formal hearing was required.
Slow over-rates have been a persistent problem for England in the World Test Championship. In the last cycle, they lost 19 points during the Ashes and three more against New Zealand — costing them a potential spot in the final.
England will face India again in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy starting July 23 at Old Trafford.
