ENGLAND LOSE 12 WTC POINTS FOR SLOW OVER RATE AT OVAL

This is the second time England have lost points for a slow over rate in this World Test Championship cycle

Joe Root accepted the charge of maintaining a slow over rate at The Oval  •  Philip Brown/Getty Images

England have been docked 12 points in the World Test Championship and fined 50% of their match fee for a slow over-rate offence against New Zealand in the second Test at The Oval. Since a win is worth 12 WTC points, the penalty has cost England the points they earned for beating New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's.

England were found to be 12 overs short of the target at The Oval after factoring in time allowances. According to the World Test Championship playing conditions, a team is penalised one point for each over short. The ICC's Code of Conduct says players will be fined 5% of their match fee for each over short but the maximum is capped at 50%, which is the penalty England have been hit with.

The charges were brought by on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd. England captain Joe Root, who was standing in for Ben Stokes in the aftermath of the Rex Rooms incident, pled guilty and so no hearing was needed with match referee Andy Pycroft.

England lost the second Test by 253 runs, with the series level at 1-1 ahead of the decider at Trent Bridge from June 25. England are currently seventh out of nine teams in the WTC standings with 38 points from 12 Tests, which translates to 26.39 percentage points.

This is the second time England have been docked points for a slow over rate in the current WTC cycle. They lost two points for the same offence during their 22-run victory against India at Lord's in 2025. In the previous WTC cycle from 2023 to 2025, England had lost 22 points due to slow over-rate offences and finished fifth.

- ESPNcricinfo