The England Test captain, Ben Stokes, has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take a look back at the slow over-rate rules besides criticizing them for not getting engaged with the players after his side and New Zealand were copped heavy over-rate penalties during the first Test of the three-match series at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Both the captains, Ben Stokes and Tom Latham, found their teams getting docked three World Test Championship (WTC) points with 15% match fee fines. That has now put the Blackcaps at a stiff job of making the WTC final, getting dropped to fifth in the table. England is at six in the WTC 2023-25 table and has been cut 22 points in the ongoing cycle, out of which they lost 19 of the 28 gained points during the 2023 Ashes.
At the end of the game, the premier all-rounder was seen having a lengthy chat with the referee, David Boon, besides showing his frustration with the punishment on Instagram. The press conference at the Basin Reserve in Wellington ahead of the second Test was a great platform for the 33-year-old to display his anger.
“The most frustrating thing, from both teams’ points of view, is that the game finished early, there was a result. But I think the frustration actually stems back to last year in the Ashes, where it was the first time I really brought it up to the match referee and the umpires.” Ben Stokes expressed in the pre-match presser.
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“The times and the rules are the same wherever you go in the world. From a player’s point of view – and I’m not the only one who shares this opinion – we would like to have a lot more communication with the ICC around this.” The Christchurch-born shed light.
Ben Stokes spills the beans on not signing the over-rate penalty documents
One of the claims for Ben Stokes is in the right direction, as he failed to understand the penalty despite them winning the game with nearly ten overs to go. But the question stands how did the slow over rate happen despite the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir bowling 20 of their 91 overs in the first innings?
The veteran seems to be moving towards the requirement of a flexible over-rate framework, and he had a conversation with the referee Andy Pycroft at the end of the Lord’s Test but is yet to hear back from the ICC.
“The two conversations I’ve had with the match referees have been very good, and the match referees have handled it very, very well and been very understanding from a player’s point of view.” Ben Stokes highlighted in the presser. “But, it’s been over a year now since I made some comments around the over rates, and still to this day, we’re yet to hear any response back from anyone at the ICC around that.”
He revealed that he has yet to sign the over-rate chargesheet since the Lord’s Test as a mild protest. However, he accepted the charge leveled by the four umpires along with Latham.
“I‘ve not signed an over-rate sheet since Lord’s in the Ashes just until we hear some communication back from the ICC that we’re still waiting for. Captains have to sign over-rate sheets and fines and stuff, but I have said ‘no‘ until I have the conversations. But they still take the fines off you anyway.” Ben Stokes concluded.
He has shown sympathy for the incoming fans who are robbed of their full allocation of 90 overs in a day, especially in England, where the tickets are particularly expansive, making the over-rate a talking point among a section of supporters.