Pakistan have been hit with two sanctions for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third and final ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Test against England at Edgbaston.
Pakistan were found to be 11 overs short of the required rate after time allowances were taken into account. England went on to win the Test by eight wickets, successfully chasing a target of 130 runs.
As a result of the slow over-rate, Pakistan’s players were fined 50 percent of their match fees, while the team also lost 11 points from their WTC tally.
The sanctions were imposed by Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Allahudien Palekar and fourth umpire Russell Warren.
Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, players are fined five percent of their match fee for every over their team fails to bowl within the allotted time. The maximum individual penalty is capped at 50 percent.
Meanwhile, Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions states that a team loses one WTC point for every over it falls short of the required rate. Pakistan have therefore been docked 11 championship points.
The deduction leaves Pakistan ninth in the current WTC standings with a points percentage of 4.63.
Pakistan’s next WTC assignment will be in November when they host Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series. The matches are scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Pakistan’s three-Test series against England ended in disappointment. They suffered an innings-and-103-run defeat in the opening Test at Headingley before losing the Lord’s Test by 194 runs.
Following the first two defeats, the Pakistan Cricket Board released seven players from the squad and brought in five uncapped players — Razaullah, Arafat Minhas, Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Imran Junior and Saad Baig. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal also returned to the squad.
The coaching setup was also changed, with red-ball coaches Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul released. White-ball coaches Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke were then given charge of the red-ball setup.
However, Mike Hesson’s first assignment as red-ball coach ended with another defeat as England secured an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston.
One of the biggest positives for Pakistan was the impressive Test debut of young pacer Razaullah. He regularly crossed the 140kph mark, took four wickets including the prized dismissal of Joe Root, and also produced an attacking innings of 81 from 63 balls, hitting four fours and nine sixes.
