To make things worse for an England side who are already struggling in the WTC points table, as well as the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, the ICC deducted a further three points from their tally owing to their slow over rate in Brisbane.
The ICC revised their ruling a few days after announcing a deduction of five points while also docking England the entirety of their match fees as the English maintained a poor over rate at the Gabba. The ICC announced that the total deduction would be eight points, three more than what was first revealed.
In their verdict, the ICC announced,
“The points deduction for penalty overs is not capped and must reflect the actual number of penalty overs a team is short of the minimum requirement as per Clause 16.1.2 of the ICC Playing Conditions, hence they have been penalised one point for each over they were short.”
The deduction could prove to be detrimental for England, as they languish in seventh place, after being able to secure just six points from five Tests in this cycle of the World Test Championship. The announcement came after England lost both their openers in quick succession before play was called off after a thunderstorm looked imminent.
Although England bowled 89 of the required 90 overs on Day 1, it was not without turning to captain Joe Root for a few quick overs of off-spin.
With five pace bowlers in their attack, over rates could well be a matter of concern for the Englishmen going forward. However, assistant coach Graham Thorpe did not attach much importance to the issue, saying,
“I think there’s bigger things going on in the world than over rates.”
After losing the first Test by a humbling margin, England find themselves backed up against a wall in the second as well, as they attempt to match the Aussies’ first innings score of 473. The English were also fined for poor over rates back in July when they faced India in a Test series. The eight points deducted bring England’s total up to ten in docked points.
