IND vs ENG: England Face Major Setback Despite Lord's Test Win, Docked Two WTC Points For Slow Over Rate

The third India vs England Test at Lord's was won by the hosts, handing them a massive 2-1 series lead in the five-match series with the last two Tests of the series set to be played at Manchester and London, with The Oval being the venue this time around. 

However, the third IND vs ENG Test also led to an ICC sanction for the Ben Stokes-led team - one that has impacted their WTC 2025-27 chances and has seen them drop one place in the WTC points table. 

England were also fined 10% of their match fee collectively by the ICC as per Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences - players are fined 5% of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. 

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How WTC Points Table is Impacted

England's win in the Test match at Lord's had propelled them to second in the points table, behind only arch-rivals and WTC 2025 runners-up Australia who are unbeaten in the cycle thus far. 

However, as a result of a slow over rate at the Lord's Test, they were docked two points and that has impacted their points percentage or PCT. 

They had accumulated 24 out of a possible 36 points and thus had a PCT of 66.67 but their new total of 22 means their PCT stands at 61.11. 

This means they drop to third on the table, with Sri Lanka - who have a PCT of 66.67 - now in second place according to the updated table.

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More Over Rate Woes for Stokes

This is a familiar tale for fans of the England cricket team, as their run in the WTC 2023-25 cycle was also hampered by being docked points for slow over rates. 

In fact, England have been responsible for well over a quarter of the slow over rate points deductions that have taken place in the WTC era.

This shows that the problem isn't a new one, but whether a solution is come to any time soon is something that remains to be seen.