Michael Vaughan questions ICC’s over-rate penalty on England

Former English captain Michael Vaughan has taken aim at the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its decision to penalise England for a slow over rate during the third Test against India at Lord’s.

The ICC had earlier docked England two World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined them 10 percent of their match fees after they were found to be two overs short.

However, the decision did not sit well with Michael Vaughan, who voiced his frustration on the social media platform X.

He questioned why India escaped sanction despite both sides falling well short of the required over rate across the five days.

“Let’s be honest, both teams’ over rates at Lord’s were very, very poor. How only one team has been reprimanded is beyond me,” Vaughan wrote.

According to WTC regulations, teams are penalised one point for every over they fall behind the required rate, as outlined in Article 16.11.2 of the championship’s playing conditions.

With the two-point penalty, England’s tally dropped from 24 to 22, causing their points percentage to fall from 66.67% to 61.11%.

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The slip has also pushed England from second to third in the WTC table, followed by India at fourth. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka climbed into the second spot.

In addition to the points cut, England were fined 10 percent of their match fees under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which outlines financial penalties for slow over-rates, five percent per over.

Captain Ben Stokes accepted the sanction without contest, avoiding a formal hearing.

The penalties were imposed by match referee Richie Richardson, following charges levelled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Ahsan Raza, and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.

It’s worth noting that England are leading the five-match series 2-1.

The fourth Test between India and England will commence at Old Trafford on 23 July. The series will conclude with the fifth Test at The Oval, scheduled from 31 July to 4 August.

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