England have been docked a penalty for slow over-rate in the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The choice had a profound effect on England’s World Test Championship fortunes.
All the time allowances were made and it was discovered that England’s total was 12 overs deficient of the target. As per ICC World Test Championship rules, if the teams miss the stipulated time to complete their overs, they will lose 1 championship point per over. This has meant that England have been docked with 12 WTC points.
The consequence of the penalty is hugely significant in terms of the competition as England had qualified for 12 points from their opening Test win at Lord’s. The deduction essentially erodes those gains and changes the team’s ranking in the standings.
Under the ICC Code of Conduct England also faced a 50% fine of their match fee. In actual play, the regulations are that the player is fined at 5% of the match fee every over missed which was capped at 50% in this instance, which was England.
On-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon with the assistance of third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd, who checked for over-rate compliance during the game, formally brought the charge forward.
The sanction underscores the tougher stance adopted in Test cricket on over-rate, especially under the World Test Championship umbrella, where every run has a bearing on the qualification. Teams are now operating under a lot more pressure to be tactical and have to meet very high time management criteria.
As England press ahead with their campaign for the WTC, they are likely to face increased attention on their tactics to pace the game.
