ICC punishes England team of 12 points WTC penalty after loss to New Zealand

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New Delhi: England’s World Test Championship dreams were dealt a devastating blow when the ICC stripped 12 points from the side following their crushing 253-run defeat against New Zealand at The Oval.

The ICC revealed the penalty shortly after the 2-1 loss to the visitors on Sunday afternoon, stating England’s bowlers were 12 overs short of the target with players fined 50% of their match fee.

The blow leaves England on 38 points on the WTC standings with their win percentage falling to 26.38%, down from 34.72 per cent.

New Zealand bounced back after a defeat in the opener at Lord’s to level the series 1-1 in a stunning display of strength as they take an early advantage in the WTC.

The punishment was delivered by International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel referee Andy Pycroft. It said “In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five percent of their match fee for each over their team fails to bowl within the allotted time, with the maximum penalty capped at fifty percent of the match fee,” the ICC statement continued.

Under Article 16.11.2 of the World Test Championship Playing Conditions, one point is awarded for each over the team fails to bowl within the prescribed rate. Consequently, 12 World Test Championship points have been deducted from England’s points total.

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Stand-in captain Joe Root admitted to the offence and accepted the proposed sanctions without a formal hearing. The charges against England were laid by on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.

The sanction was a further hammer blow to England’s prospects after they threw away the series lead on a dire second Test performance. The visitors, in contrast, underlined their own aspirations for this cycle, swatting England aside after winning the toss, both with bat and ball, to register a comfortable victory.

Regular skipper Ben Stokes will return for the series decider after missing out the last Test, as he was axed after a breach of team curfew at the end of the Lord’s test along with pace bowler Gus Atkinson.

The pair both had the full backing of the ECB, who investigated an incident at a nightclub reportedly involving Atkinson becoming physically aggressive towards an individual from a rugby academy.

Another proud moment despite the loss,stand-in skipper Joe Root becomes the second man ever to record 14,000 Test runs with the Former England skipper only now trailing Sachin Tendulkar in terms of Test run tallies with a host of the greats’ other records now in his sights.

Also Read: India suffer major blow as Hardik Pandya ruled out of England series

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