England have been penalised for maintaining a slow over-rate in the recently-concluded second Test against New Zealand at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
The Ben Stokes-led side was found guilty of two overs short of the target after reasonable adjustments and time allowances had been taken into consideration by the on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Martin Saggers.
Therefore, the hosts have been docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and were fined 40 per cent of their match fee. Captain Stokes pleaded guilty to the offence, with match referee Richie Richardson imposing the sanction without needing a formal hearing.
Notably, England’s WTC points tally had risen to 42 after their incredible win against the Black Caps in the second Test. But after the slow-over rate offence, the tally has fallen to 40 points.
“England, whose points tally rose to 42 after their incredible win, now sit at the 8th spot on the World Test Championship standings with only 40 points. Their point percentage also took a hit, which fell from 25 to 23.80. In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. As a result, England have been penalised two World Test Championship points from their total tally,” read a statement issued by the ICC.
“England players were also fined 40% of their match fee for the slow over rate, in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their team fails to bowl in the allotted time. England captain Ben Stokes pleaded guilty to the charges levelled by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Martin Saggers and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the statement added.
