Australia, England penalised for maintaining slow overrate in Ashes series

London [UK], August 2 : After the completion of Ashes Series 2023, Australia and England have docked crucial ICC World Test Championship points and have been hit with fines for maintaining a slow over-rate during the men’s Ashes.
Under the revised regulations, they were fined five per cent of their match fee and one WTC point for every slow over bowled.
Australia has been docked 10 WTC points from the recently-concluded Ashes series for a slow over-rate in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, while England lost 19 points combined for falling behind in four of the five Tests.
Teams earn 12 points for a Test win, four points for a draw and no points for a loss in the WTC. Typically, a team needs to bowl 90 overs in a day.
England fell two overs short in the first Test at Edgbaston, nine in the second Test at Lord's, three in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, and five in the last and final Test at The Oval.
The latest changes to the over-rate sanctions in Tests were announced at the ICC Annual Conference in Durban, South Africa in July and were put into effect from the start of the current WTC cycle.
Australia were handed a 50 per cent fine of their match fee (five per cent for each over short with a maximum of 50 per cent) for 10 overs in Manchester (fourth Test).
England have been fined 10 per cent for the first Test, 45 per cent for the second, 15 per cent for the fourth, and 25 per cent for the fifth of their match fee for slow-over rate offences.
England have docked two points for slow over-rate in the first Test, according to the new regulations, which were applied retrospectively from the start of the third edition of the World Test Championship. This penalty supersedes previously announced sanctions.
The closely fought Ashes series ended in a 2-2 draw after England won the last Test by 49 runs on Monday. Australia, who had won the previous series, retained the trophy.