England fined, docked two WTC points for slow over rate at Lord’s

LONDON (Reuters): England were docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 10% match fees on Wednesday for their slow over rate in the third Test against India at Lord’s.

The hosts went 2-1 up in the five-Test series with a thrilling 22-run victory but were found two overs short of target in a match where the Dukes ball went out of shape several times and had to be replaced.

“England captain Ben Stokes pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

Players lose 5% of their match fees for every over their team fail to bowl in the allotted time. It also costs the team one WTC point.

England slipped from second to third in the WTC standings behind Sri Lanka following the points deduction. Australia, who completed a 3-0 sweep of West Indies earlier this week, lead the standings in the new 2025-2027 cycle.