England hit with 19-point penalty in World Test Championship after Ashes for slow over rates, Australia also punished
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Updated 02/08/2023 at 14:39 GMT+1
England have seen their total number of World Test Championship points gained from the 2023 Ashes reduced from 28 to just nine due to slow over rates. Australia have been given a 10-point penalty, while both sides have also been hit with fines. Pakistan are top of the standings following their series win over Sri Lanka, with India in second and Australia in third. England are in fifth place.
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England have been docked 19 World Test Championship points for consistent slow over rates during the 2023 Ashes.
The punishment slashes England’s points total from the series from 28 to just nine.
Australia have been given a 10-point penalty for a slow over rate in the fourth Test, reducing their total to 18, and both sides were fined.
England levelled a thrilling series at 2-2 following victory at The Oval, with Stuart Broad taking the last two wickets in his final game before retirement.
However, the pace of play was a talking point throughout.
England were docked two points for their over rates at Edgbaston, nine at Lord’s, three at Old Trafford, and five at the Kia Oval.
Australia were punished for their over rate at Old Trafford, where England only batted once.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja expressed his frustration at the decision by the International Cricket Council.
“Don’t even get the chance to bowl in the second innings at Manchester due to two days of rain and ICC still issue fines and take 10 WTC points of us for slow over rates!” he wrote on Twitter.
“That makes a lot of sense…”
Australia were handed a 50 percent fine of their match fee at Old Trafford, while England have been fined 10 percent for the first Test, 45 percent for the second, 15 percent for the fourth, and 25 percent for the fifth.
The Test Championship started in 2019 and sees teams accumulate points from each Test they play over a two-year cycle.
The top two teams then meet in a one-off match to decide the winner.
Australia are the current champions after they beat India at The Oval ahead of the Ashes.
Speaking about the pace of play ahead of the final Test of the Ashes, Australia captain Pat Cummins said: “This series has been a bit of an outlier I think.
“We haven't had any over-rate sanctions over the last few years until this series. It feels like this one has been played at a different pace. It's something we need to speak about in ODI cricket as well, when you're setting fields the time can run out pretty quickly.
"It feels like there's different plans every second over, or every over, every couple of balls. One batter might have a totally different plan to another one. So there's lots of field movement, a lot more fast-bowling overs than there ever has been, no [spinner] Nathan Lyon [from the third Ashes Test onwards]. A combination of those things.
"This series is maybe that little bit higher-pressure, and it's not only the fielding side but you see the batters taking that little bit of extra time."
Pakistan are top of the standings following their series win over Sri Lanka, with India in second and Australia in third. England are in fifth place.
England are not playing another Test series until they travel to India in January.
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