The International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken action against England and Australia for maintaining a slow over-rate during the recently concluded Ashes series. Both teams have been penalized in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) for the 2023-2025 cycle.
After the exciting and closely-fought series that ended in a draw at 2-2, Australia has been docked 10 WTC points for their slow over-rate during the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. On the other hand, England have lost a total of 19 points for maintaining a slow over-rate in four out of the five games played in the series.
The Ben Stokes-led side failed to meet the required over-rate in multiple Tests, falling short by two overs in the first Test at Edgbaston, nine in the second Test at Lord’s, three in the fourth Test at Old Trafford and five in the final Test at The Oval. In Test matches, teams are expected to bowl 90 overs per day.
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In addition to the points deduction, Pat Cummins & Co. have been fined 40 percent of their match fees for bowling less than 10 overs in the stipulated time during the fourth Test. Similarly, England have been fined 10 percent for the first Test, 45 percent for the second, 15 percent for the fourth, and 25 percent for the fifth Test match, respectively.
With these sanctions in place, Pakistan and India are now leading the standings in the WTC25. Pakistan have had a flawless start to the 2023-25 campaign, securing a point percentage of 100 after their clean sweep against Sri Lanka. Babar Azam’s men displayed their dominance in the second Test with a thumping innings victory after a closely-fought first Test.
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Following closely behind, Rohit Sharma’s India holds the second spot with a point percentage of 66.66%. They achieved a win and a draw in their series against West Indies. India set the tone with a massive innings victory in the first Test but missed out on a clean sweep as rain disrupted the second encounter.
(With ICC inputs)
