"Both teams' over rates at Lords were very poor": Michael Vaughan criticises ICC for penalising only England

After registering a win over India at Lord's, England have lost two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over rate during the third Test of the five-match series.

Former England captain posted on his X handle, "Let's be honest, both teams' over rates at Lords were very, very poor. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me."

This came under Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, by which a side is penalised one point for each over short, and after time allowances were taken into consideration.

After the deduction, England's tally in the World Test Championship standings dropped from 24 to 22 out of 36 points, consequently reducing their point percentage from 66.67% to 61.11%.

As a result, England has slipped from second to third position in the table, with Sri Lanka now overtaking them to claim the second spot. In addition, they were also fined 10 per cent of their match fee.

This was in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences. Players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

England captain Ben Stokes pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction imposed by Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Due to this, there was no need for a formal hearing.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.

In the enthralling third Test, both sides were locked in a heated battle that went right down to the final session on Day 5. After posting identical scores in the first innings, the game remained evenly poised until England built a 192-run lead, leaving India to chase in the fourth innings.

An early collapse made it seem like the game was all but over, but a spirited lower-order fightback, led by Ravindra Jadeja, brought India agonisingly close. However, England eventually held their nerve to seal a thrilling 22-run victory in emphatic fashion. (ANI)