England Suffer Major Blow in WTC After ICC Deducts 12 Points

England have been penalized 12 points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and fined 50% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.

The penalty effectively wipes out the 12 WTC points England earned from their victory in the series opener at Lord’s, as a Test win is worth 12 points in the championship standings.

After the match, England were found to be 12 overs short of the required target after time allowances had been taken into account. Under WTC playing conditions, teams lose one championship point for every over they fall short.

The ICC Code of Conduct also states that players are fined 5% of their match fee for each over short, with the maximum penalty capped at 50%. England received the maximum fine.

The charge was brought by on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.

England stand-in captain Joe Root, who was leading the side in place of Ben Stokes following the Rex Rooms incident, accepted the offense and admitted guilt. As a result, no formal hearing was required.

The sanction was confirmed by match referee Andy Pycroft.

England lost the second Test by 253 runs, allowing New Zealand to level the three-match series at 1-1. The deciding Test is scheduled to begin at Trent Bridge on June 25.

Following the points deduction, England now sit seventh in the WTC standings with 38 points from 12 Tests and a points percentage of 26.39.

This is the second time England have been penalized for a slow over-rate in the current WTC cycle. They were previously docked two points after their 22-run victory over India at Lord’s in 2025.

During the previous WTC cycle from 2023 to 2025, England lost a total of 22 points due to slow over-rate offenses and finished fifth in the standings.