Former England captain Michael Vaughan has strongly criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) for singling out England in penalising slow over-rates during the third Test against India at Lord’s, claiming that both sides were equally sluggish with their over rates.
"Let’s be honest both teams over rates at Lords were very very poor .. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me..." Vaughan wrote on X, questioning the ICC’s decision after England were docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 10 per cent of their match fee for being two overs short of the required quota, even after accounting for time allowances.
The sanction, enforced under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct and WTC playing conditions, has seen England slip from second to third in the WTC standings. Sri Lanka leapfrogged them into second place behind table-toppers Australia.
While the punishment has drawn criticism from Vaughan, former India coach Ravi Shastri said such penalties are part of the modern WTC framework and teams need to be more vigilant.
“It hurts as Australia found out in the first cycle of the World Test Championship. They had a slow over rate against India and it cost them the second place and New Zealand qualified for that final,” said Shastri in a video posted on ICC’s Instagram. “So you've got to be fully aware about all this. There'll be certain games where they'll probably make up for it.”
The punishment comes after an enthralling contest at Lord’s where England edged India by 22 runs in a tense finish to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. However, the over-rate debate has somewhat overshadowed the result, with many echoing Vaughan's concerns over inconsistent application of rules.
The fourth Test begins on July 23 at Old Trafford in Manchester, and with points deductions now a factor, both teams will be keeping a closer eye on their time management—particularly with WTC Final qualification on the line.
