Latest news with #overrates
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ben Stokes again voices anger at ICC rules after England's over rate punishment
Ben Stokes has reignited his long-running row with the International Cricket Council after England were docked two World Test Championship points following last week's win over India. England claimed a gripping 22-run win to move 2-1 ahead in the five-match Rothesay series, in a Lord's Test where a timewasting row erupted and there were several breaks in play, leading to slow over-rates. The hosts were the only side to be deemed to be in the red once allowances were taken into consideration and the points deduction led to them slipping from second to third in the WTC standings. England lost a tournament-record 22 points in the last cycle, with Stokes repeatedly exasperated at the playing regulations, which sanctions sides for failing to get through an average of 15 overs per hour. As a form of protest, Stokes has refused to put his signature to the relevant paperwork and did so again after England's latest punishment, instead reiterating calls for the ICC to revise its rules. 'Over rate isn't something I worry about but that's not saying I purposely slow things down,' Stokes said. 'I do understand the frustration around it but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it's structured. 'You can't have the same rules in Asia where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it's going to be 70, 80 per cent of seam bowled. Common sense would think you should look at changing how the over-rates are timed in different continents. 'There are times in games where there isn't a game on the line where you will just throw the ball to a spinner to get your overs round. You're playing in an international game where you're just trying to get your over rate back. I don't think people want to come and watch that.' Liam Dawson will make his first Test appearance since July 2017 at Emirates Old Trafford this week, with the 35-year-old spinner replacing the injured Shoaib Bashir in England's only change to their XI. 'I've known Daws for a long time,' Stokes said. 'I know the cricketer he is, but I think what does go under the radar is his competitiveness. He's earned his call-up to the Test team.' England could wrap up a first win in a five-match Test series since 2018 this week and have had some input from mental skills guru Gilbert Enoka, a long-time friend of head coach Brendon McCullum. Enoka, working as an England consultant in Manchester, is famed for his work with New Zealand's rugby union team, instilling a 'no d***heads' policy in a period where the All Blacks won two World Cups. 'He's come in, spent some time around the team and I think he's been able to put into words what we want to do a lot better than what me and Baz would ever be able to do,' Stokes added. 'We've just given ourselves as much chance as we possibly can of kicking on to where we want to be and we both felt that Gilbert was the right person to do that. 'It's a lot better from someone who has been there and done that and been very successful in team sport like Gilbert has.' India have to make at least two changes to their line-up as fast bowler Akash Deep was unable to recover from a groin injury, meaning he joins all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy on the sidelines. Mohammed Siraj said on Monday that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will play while India captain Shubman Gill confirmed Rishabh Pant will be retained as wicketkeeper after suffering a finger injury at Lord's.
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ben Stokes suggests rule change after England were fined during India series
Ben Stokes has called for a change to the way over rates are assessed by the ICC, after England were docked two points in the World Championship for their slow play at Lord's. The England captain, who has confirmed he is continuing his one-man protest at the International Cricket Council by refusing to sign the post-match paperwork, accepts that spectators can be frustrated by how few overs are bowled and how rarely teams deliver the 90 that are scheduled for the day. But Stokes feels there needs to be more common sense and argued there should be different criteria for matches in England – and Australia and New Zealand – compared to countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where spinners can bowl the majority of overs and get through them far quicker. 'I'm not signing the form, no,' Stokes said. 'I can understand it from an external point of view around the overs, I really do. But it's a very tough thing to do when I feel there's more to it than just getting round, getting told: 'Oh, just quicken up, get through your overs.'' Stokes argued the compressed nature of the fixture list for England's series against India has made it harder for the fast bowlers, while the injury suffered by off-spinner Shoaib Bashir at Lord's meant the seamers had to shoulder a bigger workload in the third Test. 'There's a lot that actually goes on out on the field,' Stokes added. 'You've got fast bowlers bending their back consistently. Throughout the course of a game, the [number] of overs is going to come down. You've just got tired bodies. We played for five days. That was our 15th day of cricket [in the series]. 'We obviously had an injury to Bash, so we couldn't turn to our spinner as much as we would've liked to on day five, so we had to throw seam at them for pretty much the whole day. That's obviously going to slow things down. There are periods in the game where you do try and just slow everything down, more tactically if anything, like that. 'Over rate isn't something that I worry about, but that's not saying that I purposely slow things down. I do understand the frustration around it, but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it's structured. 'You can't have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs, to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it's going to be 70 or 80 per cent of seam bowled, because the spinner's over takes less time than the seamer's over. Common sense would think that you should look at changing how the over rates are timed in different continents.' Stokes also feels the attacking style of batting that England have affects the over rate, with more time spent retrieving the ball after it has been hit for four or six. 'I wonder if scoring rates have got anything to do with that as well,' he added. 'The ball's getting hit to the boundary more often. It's obviously going to take a lot longer. 'I think there's just so much that influences how your over rates can be affected, that it can't just be as simple as, 'This is the time, this is what you need to do,' because you want to keep the quality of cricket as high as you possibly can. 'And there are times in games where there isn't a game on the line, where you will just throw the ball to [the] spinner to get your overs round, but then that's just... you're playing in an international game, where you're just trying to get your over rate back. I don't think people want to come and watch that.'
Times
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Times
England fined but India escape sanction — despite slow over rate for both
Every England player has been fined £1,500 for the poor over rates in the dramatic 22-run win at Lord's, but India have escaped any sanctions despite both teams playing slowly. Ben Stokes's side have also been docked two World Test Championship points. England have opened the new two-year cycle of the tournament with two victories, but their win percentage — which determines who qualifies for the final — is now 61.11 per cent and has dropped them into third place. A total of 32 overs were lost from the first three days at Lord's because of a succession of stoppages, including checks for soft balls going out of shape in the hope of getting them changed, players being treated for injuries and equipment changes, as well as multiple field changes every over. On day two, when India reached the close on 145 for three, 72.3 overs were bowled, resulting in 15 overs being lost. Richie Richardson, the match referee, ruled that England, even with time allowances taken into account, were two overs short of the target. One factor that worked in India's favour, despite bowling only 83 of the 90 required overs on the first day, was that they bowled 42.1 overs of spin, while England bowled 31.5. A number of factors are taken into account by the match officials, especially those that are outside the control of the fielding side. For example, India would not have been penalised for Zak Crawley's time-wasting tactics on the third evening when England came out to bat with only eight minutes left of the day's play. There should have been enough time for India to have two overs, but only one was bowled after Crawley twice pulled out of his stance citing issues behind the bowler's arm and then asked for treatment from the team physiotherapist. There has been an issue throughout the series with the Dukes balls, which have had to be checked by the umpires, at the request of the fielding side, in every innings this series to see if the ball has lost shape. Each time this happens it takes a few minutes for them to check the ball using their measuring gauges and then a further few minutes for the fourth umpire to bring spares on to the field if it needed to be changed. There have been more than ten instances of the ball being changed in the first three Tests. Joe Root believes the time wasted during this process could be minimised by each team being given only three opportunities within the 80 overs that each ball is used to ask for it to be changed. The Times understands that this is an idea that the ICC's cricket committee will be asked to discuss at their next meeting.
