Pakistan have been docked 11 World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over-rate in the third Test of their recently concluded series against England at Edgbaston. The ICC announced the penalty on Monday, stating that the visitors were 11 overs short of the required quota in the match.
Just when it seemed Pakistan’s Test struggles had eased for the time being after their 3-0 whitewash by England, they now face a further setback.
Penalties under the playing conditions
Article 16.11.2 of the WTC playing conditions states that “a side is penalised one point for each over short” after time allowances are taken into consideration. Pakistan therefore lost one point for each of the 11 overs they were short, a total of 11 points.
Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel also applies. It states that “players are fined five per cent of their match fee for each over their team fails to bowl within the allotted time, with the maximum penalty capped at 50 per cent of the match fee.” Every Pakistan player has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee.
Pakistan’s WTC standing takes a hit
Pakistan have won only two of nine Tests in the ongoing WTC cycle, losing seven. Following the latest penalty, their points tally has dropped to just five. They were also docked eight points for a slow over-rate against Bangladesh in the Dhaka Test earlier this year, which brings their total deductions in the current cycle to 19.
The Babar Azam-led side sit at the bottom of the WTC table with a PCT of 4.63. They have also fallen to ninth in the ICC men’s Test team rankings. A decade ago, in 2016, Pakistan were the top-ranked Test side in the world.