Ben Stokes Slams ICC Over Slow Over-Rate Penalties

England captain Ben Stokes has voiced his discontent with the ICC’s ruling after his team was penalized for a slow over-rate in the third Test against India at Lord’s. Despite England securing a commanding win in the match, the ICC’s sanctions cost them crucial World Test Championship points, dropping them in the rankings.

Stokes didn’t shy away from calling for reform in how over-rate penalties are enforced, suggesting that geographical conditions should be considered before imposing fines or docking points.

β€œπ‘Άπ’—π’†π’“-𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 π’Šπ’”π’β€™π’• π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝑰 π’˜π’π’“π’“π’š 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’”π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝑰 π’‘π’–π’“π’‘π’π’”π’†π’π’š π’”π’π’π’˜ π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’” π’…π’π’˜π’,” π‘Ίπ’•π’π’Œπ’†π’” π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… 𝒕𝒐 π’€π’π’“π’Œπ’”π’‰π’Šπ’“π’† 𝑷𝒐𝒔𝒕.

β€œπ‘»π’‰π’†π’“π’† 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 π’π’π’π’Œ 𝒂𝒕 π’‰π’π’˜ π’Šπ’•β€™π’” 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅.”

He argued that applying the same rules across different continents doesn’t make sense, especially when spin dominates in Asia and pace prevails in places like England, Australia, or New Zealand.

Cricket Is More Than a Clock: Stokes on Over-Rates and Match Quality

According to Stokes, focusing too much on over-rates can take away from the strategy and spirit of the game. He emphasized that captains shouldn’t be forced to bowl spin solely to meet rate requirements, particularly when seam is the tactical choice in certain conditions.

β€œπ’€π’π’–β€™π’“π’† π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Šπ’ 𝒂𝒏 π’Šπ’π’•π’†π’“π’π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’‚π’ π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’† π’˜π’‰π’†π’“π’† π’šπ’π’–β€™π’“π’† 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’•π’“π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 π’ˆπ’†π’• π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓-𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.

β€œπ‘° 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 π’˜π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 π’„π’π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‚π’•π’„π’‰ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕.”

Stokes’ remarks highlight the growing frustration among players and captains regarding the rigid penalty system that doesn’t take game context or conditions into account.

England Announce Squad for 4th Test at Old Trafford

The fourth Test of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy kicks off on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester. England has announced one change to their lineup: Liam Dawson comes in for the injured Shoaib Bashir. The inclusion of Dawson, a left-arm spinning all-rounder, is expected to add depth to England’s bowling attack.

England Playing XI for the 4th Test vs India

  • Zak Crawley
  • Ben Duckett
  • Ollie Pope
  • Joe Root
  • Harry Brook
  • Ben Stokes (C)
  • Jamie Smith (WK)
  • Liam Dawson
  • Chris Woakes
  • Brydon Carse
  • Jofra Archer

Also Read: ENG vs IND 2025: Sanjay Bangar Believes Rishabh Pant Adds Crucial Stability to India’s XI

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