Over rate penalties not enough, time for stricter rules

England have slipped from second to third on the World Test Championships (WTC) points table after the ICC made it known on Wednesday that they were guilty of slow over rate in the Lord’s Test against India.

- Rasesh Mandani

Although England have accepted the two points they have been docked, the ruling may intensify England's disregard for WTC's over rate penalty rules.

For England, the WTC mace has never been the priority, having finished fourth, fourth and fifth over the last three cycles. Never has skipper Ben Stokes altered his bowling plans to escape over rate penalties. His marathon spells on Day 5 at Lord's, spellbinding as they were, was another example. If points docked on the WTC table are a surcharge, so be it.

"Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left," was one of Stokes’ Instagram responses last year when England were penalised for poor over rate.

The point is that ICC recently overruled England managing director Rob Key's plea to fine tune over rate penalty based on playing conditions. England argued teams that play on seam-friendly pitches and use more fast bowling take more time to bowl overs than spin-dependent sides.