Ben Stokes expressed his displeasure over ICC’s decision to deduct England’s points in the World Test Championship. The sanction was imposed on both New Zealand and England after the conclusion of the the 1st Test in Christchurch. Stokes took to his Instagram and shared a post with caption, “Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left.”
Both New Zealand and England were fined 15% of their match fee and three points were docked in the World Test Championship standing. These penalities were handed at a time when both the teams were trying to finish in top two of the WTC standings.
The penalties arose as both sides were found to be three overs short of the target after accounting for time allowances. Under competition rules, teams are penalized one championship point for each over they fall short.
Will New Zealand make WTC final after points deduction?
England registered a comfortable eight-wicket win at Hagley Oval against the Kiwis , however it does little to alter their fate in the World Test Championship (WTC), as they are already out of contention for the final. On the other hand, New Zealand’s hopes of making the WTC final received a severe blow after the loss to England.
A points deduction has pushed Kiwis from joint fourth to fifth place in the standings, leaving them with a reduced points percentage of 47.92%. Even if New Zealand secures wins the remaining Test matches against England, their maximum possible points percentage rises to just 55.36%.
They will have to then rely on favourable outcomes in other matches to keep their slim hopes of reaching the final alive, making their path to qualification a daunting one.
