England fined and docked 12 WTC points for slow overrate in the Oval Test

England have been fined 50 per cent of their match fee and docked 12 World Test Championship (WTC) points for maintaining a slow over-rate during the Oval Test against New Zealand, a match they lost by 253 runs.

The hosts were ruled to be 12 overs short of the required rate after time allowances were taken into consideration. The sanction was imposed by Match Referee Andy Pycroft under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

England's interim captain Joe Root admitted the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.

The penalty leaves England seventh in the WTC 2025-27 standings with 38 points and a points percentage of 26.39. It also takes their total points deduction in the current cycle to 14, having previously been docked two points during last year's Lord's Test against India.

England have frequently found themselves on the wrong side of over-rate penalties since the introduction of WTC points deductions. During the 2023-25 cycle, they lost 19 points across the home Ashes series and a further three points after the Christchurch Test against New Zealand. The latter prompted captain Ben Stokes to post a sarcastic message on Instagram: "Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left."

England were also penalised two points following the Trent Bridge Test in 2022 and another eight after the Brisbane Test in December 2021.