England Penalized 12 WTC Points for Slow Over Rate Against New Zealand

Kennington. England cricket team has been heavily penalized for slow over rate in the second Test match against New Zealand at The Oval.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has deducted 12 points from England's World Test Championship (WTC) table and also fined them 50 percent of their match fee. Since 12 points are awarded for winning a Test Championship match, this penalty has caused England to suffer a significant loss equivalent to the points earned by defeating New Zealand in the first Lord's Test.

Even after considering time allowances and various concessions, England was found to be 12 overs behind the stipulated target. According to World Test Championship rules, one point is deducted for each over not bowled. Similarly, as per ICC's code of conduct, players' match fees are deducted at a rate of 5 percent per over, with a maximum limit of 50 percent, and England has received that maximum penalty. 

Match umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker, and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd had determined this charge. Since Joe Root, who took over the team's captaincy in place of Ben Stokes after the Rex Rooms incident, admitted his mistake, no formal hearing was required with match referee Andy Pycroft.

England had lost the second Test match to New Zealand by 253 runs. With this, the series has been leveled at 1-1 before the decisive match starting at Trent Bridge from June 25. After this penalty, England has dropped to seventh place among the nine teams in the WTC points table, with 38 points from 12 Tests, which amounts to only 26.39 percent based on points percentage.

This is the second time England has lost points due to a slow over rate in the current WTC cycle. Earlier, in 2025, England had lost two points in a 22-run victory against India at Lord's. Similarly, in the previous WTC cycle from 2023 to 2025, England had to settle for fifth place, losing 22 points due to a slow over rate.