Pakistan were docked 11 World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 50 percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston.
Pakistan were found to be 11 overs short of the required rate after time allowances were taken into account in the final Test, which England won by eight wickets.
The points deduction has further hurt Pakistan’s campaign in the ongoing WTC cycle. They remain at the bottom of the standings in ninth place, with their points percentage dropping to 4.63 following the penalty.
The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Allahudien Palekar and fourth umpire Russell Warren. Match referee Ranjan Madugalle of the ICC Elite Panel imposed the sanction.
Under Article 2.22 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which deals with minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five percent of their match fee for every over if their team fails to bowl within the allotted time. The fine is capped at 50 percent of the match fee.
With Pakistan falling 11 overs short at Edgbaston, their players were consequently handed the maximum fine of 50 percent.
There is a separate penalty for slow over-rates in the World Test Championship. Under the WTC playing conditions, teams lose one championship point for every over they are found to be short. Pakistan have therefore had 11 points deducted from their overall tally.
The sanction compounds what was already a disappointing end to Pakistan’s tour of England. The hosts completed an eight-wicket victory in the third Test at Edgbaston to seal a 3-0 series sweep.
The tour had already seen considerable upheaval in the Pakistan camp after heavy defeats in the first two Tests. They lost the series opener at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs before suffering a 194-run defeat at Lord’s to go 0-2 down.
Following the Lord’s defeat, the Pakistan Cricket Board made sweeping changes ahead of the final Test. Seven players – Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad – were released from the squad. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also removed from their roles.
White-ball coach Mike Hesson was handed charge of the Test side for the Edgbaston game, with Ashley Noffke joining him. Seven replacement players were called up, five of whom were uncapped. Hesson later said the decision to send the players home had been taken before he was given charge of the Test team. The changes, however, could not prevent Pakistan from suffering another defeat as England completed the whitewash at Edgbaston.
Pakistan’s next WTC assignment is scheduled for November, when they host Sri Lanka for a two-match series. The two Tests are set to be played in Rawalpindi and Lahore.