England captain left confused by penalty after fourth-day win dents New Zealand’s WTC hopes
New Zealand suffered a heavy defeat in Christchurch • Joe Allison/Getty Images
Ben Stokes was left bemused by over-rate penalties imposed on his England side after their eight-wicket win over New Zealand in Christchurch, responding with three shrugging emojis and sarcastically writing: “Good on you ICC.”
New Zealand and England were both docked three World Test Championship (WTC) points and all their players have been fined 15% of their match fees for maintaining slow over-rates in the first Test at Hagley Oval.
Stokes, England’s captain, responded to the sanctions by writing on his Instagram story: “Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left.” England have now been docked 22 WTC points in the 2023-25 cycle for their slow over-rates, having previously lost 19 of the 28 points they gained during the 2023 Ashes series for the same reason.
Before the first Test, Stokes described the WTC as “utterly confusing” and said that he had never given the competition serious consideration. England finished fourth in the first two editions of the WTC, and are sixth in the ongoing cycle, meaning they will miss out on a chance to play the final on home soil for the third time in a row.
The penalty meant that New Zealand, who won the inaugural WTC, dropped from fourth to fifth on the WTC table and their chances of making the final next year has taken a further hit after their loss in the first Test.
New Zealand now have 47.92% points, and can only move as high as 55.36% with wins from their remaining two fixtures in the series.
Both teams were found to have fallen three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, with sides penalised one point for each over they were found to be short.
On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton levelled the charges, which Stokes and Tom Latham, the two captains, accepted, and match referee David Boon imposed the sanctions.
The top two positions in the WTC table are currently occupied by India and South Africa, respectively, with Australia at No. 3 and Sri Lanka at No. 4. With 15 Tests to go in the current WTC cycle, no team is assured of a place in the top two.
After winning the Test series 3-0 in India, New Zealand’s sloppy fielding in Christchurch, which resulted in an eight-wicket loss, ruined any realistic chance of them making their second WTC final.
