Cricket fans and pundits are once again questioning the harsh penalties for slow over-rates after Australia’s arch-rivals England were docked 12 World Test Championship points and fined 50 per cent of their match fee. The ICC announced the punishments on Monday after England were found to be 12 overs short of the required rate in the second Test against New Zealand.
Under the ICC’s strict rules, teams are docked one World Test Championship point for every over they’re short, as well as 5 per cent of their match fee. The maximum fine is 50 per cent, and in this instance it equates to about $13,500 for each of the 11 England players (and $148,500 all up).
England have been docked 12 World Test Championship points and fined nearly $150,000. Image: Getty
The 12-point deduction means England have lost of all the points they accrued for winning the first Test against New Zealand, effectively stripping them of a win. It leaves them on 38 points and in seventh spot with a 26.39 percentage, well below first-placed Australia on 84 points and 87.50 percentage. South Africa are second with a 75.00 percentage, and England have a mountain to climb if they want to make the final.
But the heavy sanction for England has left the cricket world divided. While some believe the ICC is right to take such a strict approach, others believe the situation is a farce because the second Test technically finished ‘early’ anyway – in the first session of day five.
Joe Root and the England players were each fined 50 per cent of their match fee.
(Gareth Copley)Cricket world divided on over-rate penalties
Australia famously avoided sanctions during the Ashes due to a loophole in the rule that voids any slow over-rates if an innings doesn’t last a minimum of 90 overs. At one point the Aussies bowled their overs at a much slower rate, but England copped a fine because they were bowled out quicker.
Ben Stokes has previously questioned why the rule is applied unilaterally despite different conditions calling for different tactics around the world. “You can’t have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs, to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it’s going to be 70 or 80 per cent of seam bowled,” he said.
“Because the spinner’s over takes less time than the seamer’s over. Common sense would think that you should look at changing how the over-rates are timed in different continents.”
In the second Test, spin was only used for 37 of the 325 overs bowled. One person wrote on social media: “That’s ridiculous! 12 WTC points sounds excessive for slow overrate offence!”
Another commented: “Deducting points for slow over rates is so unfair. Sometimes on-field strategy, weather, appeal follow-ups, ball checking, etc. takes time. The points should reflect ONLY the outcome of a game – win, draw/tie, or loss. ICC should think about other forms of penalty.”