England’s hopes of making the World Test Championship (WTC) received a body blow after the Three Lions were docked 12 points for maintaining a slow over-rate in the second Test of the three-match series against New Zealand at the Oval in London. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the official punishment for England shortly after the hosts went down against the Kiwis by 253 runs on Sunday. Moreover, England have also been fined 50 per cent of their match fees.
The sanction was imposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. The action was taken after England were ruled to be 12 overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.
“In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for each over their team fails to bowl within the allotted time, with the maximum penalty capped at 50 per cent of the match fee,” the ICC stated in an official media release.
“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. Consequently, 12 World Test Championship points have been deducted from England’s points total,” it added.
England’s stand-in captain Joe Root pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
On-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd levelled the charge.
Ben Stokes returns
Ben Stokes, who was left out of the squad for the second Test after he broke team curfew after the Lord’s Test, has returned to the side for the series decider, and he will captain the side. Pacer Gus Atkinson has also been named in the team.
The duo were cleared by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following an investigation into the nightclub incident, where Atkinson was almost punched by a rugby academy player.
The second Test between England and New Zealand saw Root become just the second player to surpass the 14,000-run mark in Tests. He is the second-highest run-scorer in Tests, and has a realistic chance of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s records of most Test runs and most Test centuries.