Australia and England sanctioned by ICC for maintaining slow over rate in Ashes opener

Australia and England were involved in a gripping encounter in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston from June 16 to 20. The visitors secured a two-wicket win to mark a historic win and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

In the aftermath of the contest, both teams have been deducted two points for maintaining a slow over rate in the fixture, which started the third cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). The Ashes rivals have also been fined 40 per cent of their match fees, in addition to the points deduction, as they were found to be two overs short of their targets after time allowances were taken into consideration.

The sanctions were imposed by match referee Andy Pycroft. With the skippers Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes accepting the charges, there will not be any need for a formal hearing.

Australia were recently fined 80 percent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate during the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against India, who were handed a straight 100 percent match fee fine.

Australia initially had 12 points following the win, which has now been cut down to 10 points after the sanctions. England, on the other hand, move at the bottom of the table at the ninth spot. The deduction takes their points tally to -2 following the two-wicket loss.

The Ashes opener was interrupted by rain on the third day where only 33 overs were possible to bowl and on the final day as well, where the entire first session was washed out. The allocation for extra time was provided on Day 4 and Day 5 due to the number of overs lost on Day 3.

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"Definitely one of my favourite Test matches" - Usman Khawaja on the Ashes first Test

Veteran opening batter Usman Khawaja played a vital hand in Australia's recent Ashes Test triumph with significant knocks across both innings. He notched his maiden Test hundred on England soil in the first innings, before leading the run chase as well. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for his performance.

Rating it as one of his favorite Tests, Khawaja said during the post-match presentation:

"When you're playing you're fine. Hard to watch. Definitely one of my favourite Test matches. I couldn't watch it with the guys. Was too much nervous energy there. Was watching in the change room on the delayed feed. Personally for me, even now, I've never felt like this. The ebb and flow of the whole game. It was no one's Test match until it was won. Last Test series was pretty tough work for the batters in general unless you were Steve Smith."

Australia have begun the journey to defend the mace on the right note. The second Test is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, June 28, at Lord's