Former England pacer Stuart Broad hits out at ICC for slow over rate penalties in Ashes
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Recently-retired England fast bowler Stuart Broad has hit out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) over penalties for slow over rates. Notably, England were docked 19 points out of their total of 28 and could manage only nine points from the Ashes 2023. Australia were also docked 10 points and got 18 in total after the series ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
“It diminishes the relevance of the World Test Championship, to be honest,” Broad told the Daily Mail.
“It’s been one of the most entertaining series of all time and for England to come out with nine points from a possible 60, the system’s wrong and needs looking at,” he added.
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As per the ICC rules, one point gets docked from the total points for each over bowled less in the stipulated time by the teams.
After the series, England were found short of a combined 19 overs in four Tests out of five while Australia were found short of 10 overs, all during the rain-marred Old Trafford Test, hence a 10-point deduction. Apart from WTC points, the teams are also fined their match fee, which is five per cent for each over short.
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After taking the docked points into account, Australia currently stand in third position on the WTC leader table and England are in fifth place.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, thinks that the officials need to make players move around a bit more to reduce the lost time.
“I think the umpires need to start just getting the players around more. Getting them ready, getting them organised, making sure the batter’s ready to face up, making sure the bowler is at the end of his mark when the batsman gets back to his crease. We’ve got to find a way not to be losing so much time in these games,” he said on an episode of ICC Review.
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