The England skipper voiced his dissatisfaction calling the ruling inconsistent and detrimental to the sport credibility. Stokes emphasized the hard work and commitment his team had shown and questioned the justice of the decision suggesting it could erode trust among players and fans in the ICC processes.
New Zealand and England were penalized three points each for maintaining a slow over rate during the first test of their three match series.
England test captain Ben Stokes responded sharply to the International Cricket Council (ICC) after his team received a slow over rate penalty following the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. Stokes pointed out that the match concluded with 10 hours of play still left questioning the rationale behind the sanctions.
The race to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final intensified as both New Zealand and England were docked three points each for failing to maintain the required over rate in the opening test of their three match series.
On Tuesday the ICC announced that New Zealand and England had been fined 15 percent of their match fees and penalized three WTC points for the infraction adding more drama to the competition.
Taking to Instagram Stokes expressed his frustration writing Good on you ICC accompanied by three shrugging emojis and highlighting the timing of the game conclusion.
The ICC stated New Zealand and England were both found to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration with sides penalized one point for each over they were found short.
England skipper Ben Stokes and New Zealand captain Tom Latham accepted the charges and the proposed sanctions avoiding the need for a formal hearing.
The charges were brought by on field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton. The sanctions were imposed by David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
England already out of contention for next year final secured an 8 wickets victory in Christchurch. They are currently in sixth place with 10 wins, nine losses and a draw in 20 Tests translating to a points percentage (PCT) of 42.50.
The sanctions however dealt a significant blow to New Zealand chances. The inaugural WTC champions dropped from the joint fourth spot to fifth in the standings.
Following the penalty New Zealand points percentage now stands at 47.92 percent. Even if they win their remaining two Tests against England their best possible finish is a PCT of 55.36 percent. Their fate in reaching the WTC final will depend on the outcomes of other matches.
