ENG vs NZ: With the final contenders who are yet to stand a chance for qualification into the WTC final eagerly looking forward to their forthcoming games, a big blow scatters the WTC table. The final is scheduled to be played in June 2025 at Lords in England. Amidst the final battle, New Zealand and England are sanctioned for maintaining a slow overrate.
During the opening Test match of the series between England and New Zealand in Christchurch, both of the teams were penalized with a points deduction on the World Test Championship table. This deduction has made the battle more interesting, with the race to feature at next year’s final thrown wide open. England and New Zealand have been fined 15 per cent of their match fees and penalized three crucial World Test Championship points each. This incident has added more excitement to the intense final stages of the ongoing cycle.
Although England is already eliminated from the race for next year’s final, despite their impressive eight-wicket victory at Hagley Oval, the loss of competition points is a significant setback for New Zealand. As a result, they have fallen from joint fourth to outright fifth in the standings.
New Zealand and England were both found to be three overs short of the target after factoring in the time allowances for delays or stoppages. Abiding by rules, every team with such a discrepancy is penalized with one point for each over they fail to finish within the mentioned time.
Previously, New Zealand had a points percentage of 50%, but following the penalty, it has dropped to approximately 47.92%. The Kiwi can only achieve as high as a 55.36% point percentage if they beat England in the upcoming two Test matches. The charges were brought by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock, and fourth official Kim Cotton, with the sanctions being imposed by David Boon from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
Both the captains, Tom Latham and Ben Stokes, swiftly acknowledged their mistakes, pleaded guilty to the offence, and accepted the proposed sanctions, resulting in the matter being resolved without the need for a formal hearing.
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