A fresh controversy has emerged regarding ICC’s implementation of over-rate penalties in the World Test Championship (WTC).
England were docked two WTC points for a slow over-rate during the Lord’s Test against India.
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The third Test at Lord's saw a significant delay in the number of overs bowled. In the first two days, as many as 22 overs were lost. However, only England have been penalised for the slow over-rate.
After the announcement, former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned the inconsistency of the rule's application as India were left scot-free without any punishment.
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Vaughan's questions ICC for punishing only India
Vaughan took to X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his disappointment over the ICC's decision to punish England. The hosts were deducted two points from their WTC tally while leaving India did not face any deductions..
Vaughan said, "Let’s be honest both teams over-rates at Lords were very very poor .. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me .. #ENGvsIND"
The comment came just hours after the ICC confirmed that England had been reprimanded for maintaining a slow-over rate.
Let’s be honest both teams over rates at Lords were very very poor .. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me .. #ENGvsIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 16, 2025
England docked points: slips to third position in WTC table
Despite their thrilling win at Lord's, England have now slipped to the third position on the WTC points table. The change occurred after the side was docked two points for maintaining a slow over-rate in the first innings of the Lord's Test against India. England has also been fined 10% of their match fees.
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The penalty came after time allowances were considered, dropping England's points from 24 to 22 out of 36. This resulted in their percentage falling from 66.67% to 61.11%, causing them to slip from second to third position in the WTC standings.
Latest updated World Test Championship 2025-27 points table
| Rank | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draws | N/R | Points (PT) | Percentage (PCT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100.00 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 3 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 61.1 |
| 4 | India | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 33.33 |
| 5 | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 6 | West Indies | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 7 | New Zealand | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Pakistan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | South Africa | - | - | - | - | - |