ICC dents England and Australia's WTC final hopes with severe punishment after Ashes 2023

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has punished Australia and England for maintaining slow over-rate in the ENG vs AUS Ashes 2023 series. ICC has docked crucial ICC World Test Championship points from both England and Australia's tally and they were also fined with five percent match fees and one WTC point for every short over. 

3 things you need to know 

• England won the fifth Ashes 2023 Test by a margin of 49 runs 
• Australia retained the Ashes for the fourth consecutive time 
• The five-match series finished at a scoreline of 2-2 

ALSO READ | Stuart Broad claims the final Ashes 2023 wicket, wraps up his phenomenal career - WATCH

ICC penalise England and Australia for slow over-rate in Ashes series 

(Updated ICC World Test Championship Points Table / Image: ICC)

The International Cricket Council said in a statement: 

England and Australia have been docked crucial ICC World Test Championship points and have been hit with fines for maintaining a slow over-rate during the men’s Ashes.

Under the revised regulations, they were fined five percent of their match fee and one WTC point for every over short.

Australia have been docked 10 WTC points from the recently-concluded Ashes series for a slow over-rate in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, while England lost 19 points combined for falling behind in four of the five Tests.

Teams earn 12 points for a Test win, four points for a draw and no points for a loss in the WTC. Typically, a team needs to bowl 90 overs in a day.

Why were Australia and England docked WTC points?

As per ICC, the English cricket team fell two, nine, three, and five overs short in the first, second, fourth, and fifth Ashes 2023 Test. On the other hand, Australia were fined a fine of 50 percent of their match fees for being ten overs short in the fourth match played in Manchester. 

ALSO READ | Will James Anderson go Stuart Broad way and retire after Ashes 2023? Here's all we know

The English team is fined ten percent for the first Test, 45 percent for the second Test, 15 percent for the fourth Test, and 25 percent of their match fees for slow over-rate offenses in the Ashes 2023 series. England were also docked with two WTC points as per the new regulations, which were applied after the start of the new cycle of the World Test Championship. The fine supplants the previously announced punishment.