England have been fined 10% of their match fee and penalised two ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third Test against India at Lord’s.
The sanction was imposed by Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees after England were found to be two overs short of the required rate once time allowances were taken into account.
ICC rules triggered automatic sanctions
As per Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, teams are fined 5% of their match fee for every over they fail to bowl in the allotted time.
Furthermore, according to Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side loses one WTC point per over short. This resulted in a deduction of two WTC points from England’s total.
Ben Stokes accepts sanction without formal hearing
England captain Ben Stokes accepted the charges and the proposed penalties, making a formal hearing unnecessary.
The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, along with third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.
The points deduction could prove significant in the final standings of the ICC World Test Championship cycle, where every point can influence qualification for the final.
