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England are currently locking horns with India in the fourth—and arguably the most crucial—Test of the series, with plenty at stake for both sides. England lead the series 2-1 and are also keeping a close eye on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table, as they aim for a title push under Ben Stokes’ leadership. Meanwhile, in a recent development, Stokes expressed frustration after the International Cricket Council (ICC) deducted WTC points from the England team due to a slow over rate at Lord’s.
Ben Stokes fires at ICC for slow over-rate rules
Stokes, who was named Player of the Match for his gritty and passionate performance in the third Test, voiced his concern over the ICC’s over-rate penalties. While he said he doesn’t intentionally slow down the game, he believes the current system is flawed. He emphasized that applying the same over-rate rules across all conditions is unfair—pointing out that in Asia, where spinners bowl the majority of overs, it’s easier to maintain a quick rate, unlike in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand or Australia)where seamers dominate and naturally take more time between deliveries.
“Over rate isn’t something that I worry about, but that’s not saying that I purposely slow things down. I do understand the frustration around it, but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it’s structured. You can’t have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs, to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it’s going to be 70-80 per cent seam bowling,” Stokes expressed his frustration ahead of Manchester Test.
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Stokes also expresses his frustration over pressure to bowl quick overs
Stokes further explained that spinners naturally bowl their overs faster than seamers, which makes it unreasonable to apply the same over-rate expectations across different regions. He suggested that the system should consider continental conditions when assessing over rates. Stokes also pointed out that over rates have been declining for years, but in high-pressure moments of a match, teams can’t afford to hand the ball to a spinner just to catch up on overs.
“Because a spinner’s over takes less time than a seamer’s over. So common sense would think that you should look at maybe changing how the over rates are timed in different continents. I think as well, the over rates obviously have gone down over the course of quite a few years now. There are times in games where it’s all on the line, and you won’t just throw the ball to a spinner to get your overs round. You’re not playing an international game where you’re just trying to get your over rate back. I don’t think people want to come and watch that,” stokes further added
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