England penalised WTC points and match fee for breaching Code of Conduct in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

England were dealt a massive blow for maintaining a slow over-rate in the recently concluded third Test against India at Lord's. Ben Stokes' side has been fined 10 per cent of their match fee and also docked two valuable World Test Championship (WTC) points.

While over-rates have generally been an issue in Tests in world cricket, England were found two overs short of the target after considering time allowances.

As per the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, players are fined five percent of their match fees for every over above the stipulated time. Likewise, the ICC WTC conditions state that a team loses one point in the standings for every over above the fixed time.

England captain Ben Stokes has accepted the penalty, resulting in no formal hearing on the matter. The on-field umpires, Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, along with third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd, imposed the charges.

Meanwhile, England enjoyed much joy on the field, winning the Lord's Test by 22 runs on the final evening. The hosts were hampered on the over-rates by the injury to off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who bowled only 5.5 overs in the second innings.

"I have gotten bored making a point about" - Sanjay Manjrekar on the slow over-rates during England-India 3rd Test

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the penalty for the slow over-rates should be one that severely hurts the team in a Test match. Despite most days of a Test match extending by 30 minutes, sides around the globe continue to struggle to bowl 90 overs in a day.

Talking about the over-rate issue after Day 3 of the recent Lord's Test, Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo:

"It's something even I have gotten bored making a point about. Things have been tried but it has to be finally right where it hurts at the time. The one fielder coming inside the circle in white-ball cricket for slow over rate is a big issue for the fielding team."

He added:

"Likewise, it's got to be something that hurts them during the course of a game. It's ridiculous that even with the extra 30 minutes, they still can't complete the 90 overs. So, it's just become a habit that has been encouraged in a way."

It remains to be seen if the two points lost on slow over-rate come back to haunt England in their bid to qualify for the WTC final in 2027.