India and Pakistan have made huge strides towards what could be the first-ever Test World Cup final between the two arch-rivals. Okay, that’s a bit far-fetched considering the third cycle of the WTC has just started and the finale is two years away. But with the kind of lead that India and Pakistan have not only because of their series wins against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, but also (read mainly) because of the severe ICC sanctions imposed on England and Australia, one should not be held back. the courage to dream.
The ICC got 10 points from Australia and as many as 19 from England for maintaining a slow pace in the recently concluded Ashes, which ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw. England lost five wickets for speeding in the fifth Test, three in the fourth Test, nine in the second and two in the first Test. This means Ben Stokes has only met the criteria for re-evaluation once during the Ashes.
Australia fared slightly better in this regard as their overs were fine in four of the five Tests. But in the one that wasn’t, they paid a heavy price. Pat Cummins and Co lost WTC 10 points for missing 10 overs in the fourth Test, which ended in a draw due to several rain interruptions.
Under the new ICC guidelines, a team is docked a WTC point for each time the proposed elevation is exceeded, taking into account any possible delays.
As a result, Australia and England, despite having exactly the same points (28) after the five-match Ashes, are at different ends of the WTC points table. After deducting 10 points, Australia’s points percentage (PCT) is 30. They are 3rd in the current WTC points table.
England, after losing 19 points, have a PCT of just 15 and are currently 5th in the points table, even behind West Indies, who are yet to win a Test in this WTC.
How England and Australia’s loss became India and Pakistan’s gain in the WTC points table
New Zealand, South Africa and Bangladesh are yet to play in this WTC, but the ICC’s excessive punishment for England and Australia has sent the two main rivals into a tailspin.
However, India and Pakistan won’t mind one bit. Pakistan got off to a great start to the 2023–25 campaign with a run percentage of 100 after a clean sheet against Sri Lanka. After a very close first Test, Babar Azam’s men dominated the hosts with a stunning victory in the second Test.
Close behind them are India in second place with 66.66%, having won and drawn the series against the West Indies against their name. India set the tone with a massive innings victory in the first Test, but rain dampened their hopes of a clean sweep in the second Test, which ended in a stalemate.
Needless to say, the hefty ICC penalties did not go down too well with England and Australia fans. In fact, Australian opener Usman Khawaja took to social media to criticize the ICC for his decision.
“Don’t even get a chance to play 2nd innings in Manchester due to 2 days of rain and @ICC still fines us and takes 10 WTC points for slow speeding! Makes a lot of sense…,” Khawaja tweeted.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the ICC penalty for over-rates in England and Australia
Before the sanctions, England and Australia each had 26 points and a percentage of 43.33. After the penalties, Australia dropped to 30%, while England dropped to 15%, putting them below the West Indies at 16.67%.
Read Now:AI chipmaker Tenstorrent raises $100M from Hyundai and Samsung to compete with Nvidia’s chip
