Despite defeating India, England has been fined. On the fifth day of the Lord’s Test, England secured a thrilling 22-run victory. However, even after winning the match, the hosts have been penalized.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) fined England for a slow over-rate. As a result, England has been docked 2 points, and 10% of the players’ match fees have been deducted.
India also came close to being fined for the same reason but narrowly avoided it!
At Lord’s, an extra 30 minutes had to be added to play on all four of the first days. The result came during the third session on the fifth day. Despite extending playtime by 30 minutes each of the first four days, a full quota of 90 overs was not completed. Only 83 overs were bowled on the first day. On the following days, not even 80 overs were completed. In total, 368.1 overs were bowled across both teams’ four innings. Ideally, 450 overs should have been bowled across five days (90 per day), but the total fell significantly short.
Both teams bowled slowly, but only England has been penalized. The reason: England did not bowl a full 80 overs in India’s second innings. On Day 1, 83 overs were bowled, all by India. On Day 2, 72.2 overs were bowled—India bowled 23.2 and England bowled 49. On Day 3, 77.2 overs were bowled—England bowled 76.2 and India 1 over. On Day 4, 78.5 overs were bowled—India 61.1 overs, England 17.4. On the final day, 57.1 overs were bowled, all by England.
In total, out of 368.1 overs in the Test match, India bowled 166.1 overs while England bowled 202 overs.
According to ICC rules, over-rate penalties are considered only if a team bowls more than 80 overs in an innings. India’s bowling in England’s first innings met this threshold but did not constitute slow over-rate. In England’s second innings, although India bowled slowly, they dismissed England before completing 80 overs. Therefore, India avoided any penalty, while England had to bear the consequences.
