Test captain of England, Ben Stokes countered to the International Cricket Council (ICC) with a slow-over-rate penalty imposed on his team after the first Test against New Zealand played at Christchurch, with the whole match being finished with “10 hours of play still left”. There was extra ingredient and spice in the race to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final when New Zealand and England docked themselves three points each for posting a slow over-rate in the first Test of a three-match series.
On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced penalties against New Zealand and England for failing to maintain the required over-rate during the series opener in Christchurch.
Both teams thus fined 15 per cent of their match fee while also having 3 vital points deducted from their total for the WTC competition.
“Good on you ICC (with 3 shrugging emojis),” said Stokes on Instagram. “Finished off the game with still 10 hours of play left.”
The ICC had said, “However, when time allowances were taken into consideration, both New Zealand and England were found to be three overs short of the target, with teams penalized by one point for each over they were found short.”
Stokes and Latham have accepted the charges and the proposed sanctions so there is no need for a hearing on the matter, according to the England captain.
The umpires involved, Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, together with third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton, charges the duo for their actions. The sanction will be imposed by David Boon from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
An 8-wicket victory in Christchurch ensured that England would not reach next year’s final and leaves the team sixth, with 10 wins against nine losses and a draw in 20 Tests, yielding a PCT of 42.50.
The sanctions were heavily detrimental in terms of New Zealand’s chances. The maiden champions of the WTC have gone from being jointly fourth to fifth in the table.
Currently with the deduction, New Zealand boasts a points percentage of 47.92. Even if they sweep the remainder of their two-match series against England, the best they could hope for would be a points percentage of 55.36. Their WTC final aspirations would hinge on the results of other matches.
