England have been fined and docked points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) for a slow over rate in the third Test against India at Lord’s. The ICC announced the penalty on Wednesday.
England, led by Ben Stokes, were found to be two overs short after time allowances were considered. Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, players lose 5% of their match fee per over they are short.
Since England were short by two overs, they were fined 10% of their match fees. The charge was imposed by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, with help from third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.
England Lose WTC 2025-27 Points Despite Win Over India
England also lost two WTC points under Article 16.11.2 of the WTC rules. This rule states that a team loses one point for each over short. Before the penalty, England had 24 points from 36.
Now, they have 22 points and their percentage has dropped from 66.67% to 61.11%. They have also fallen from second to third place in the WTC standings.
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Sri Lanka have now moved up to second place. The penalties were confirmed by Richie Richardson from the ICC Elite Panel.
Stokes Accepts Punishment
Captain Ben Stokes accepted the charge and pleaded guilty. This meant there was no need for a hearing.
The Lord’s Test was a thriller.
Both teams scored 387 runs in the first innings. England then built a 192-run lead. But India came close in their chase of 193, with Ravindra Jadeja fighting hard. But England won by 22 runs on the final day.
England now lead the five-match series 2-1. The fourth Test starts July 23 at Old Trafford. Also, they will continue the series without their only spinner Shoaib Bashir, who injured his finger during 3rd Test.
Liam Dawson, who has made a comeback after 8 yeats will replace him.The WTC race is heating up, and every point matters.
