Australian opener Usman Khawaja slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for imposing sanctions on his team and England for slow over rates during the fourth Ashes 2023 Test at Old Trafford.
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What are the sanctions imposed by ICC on England and Australia?
England lost 19 World Test Championship points and faced fines of "10% for the first test, 45% for the second, 15% for the fourth and 25% for the fifth."
Australia, on the other hand, had 10 WTC points deducted and were fined 50% of their match fee for a slow over-rate during the fourth test in Manchester.
Both captains Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes accepted the sanctions and there will be no formal hearing.
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What does the ICC Code say about slow over-rate?
In accordance with 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 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, sides are penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, two World Test Championship points will be deducted from both teams’ points total.
What did Usman Khawaja say about the sanctions?
Australia's opener Usman Khawaja had previously approached the ICC, urging them to reconsider their stance on over-rate sanctions.
The governing body had announced a softening of penalties, but Khawaja found it "really frustrating" that players still ended up losing their match fees despite providing entertaining matches.
In response to these newly imposed penalties, Khawaja wrote on Twitter: "Don't even get the chance to bowl in the second innings at Manchester due to 2 days of rain and @ICC still issue fines and take 10 WTC points of us for slow over rates! That makes a lot of sense..."
Don't even get the chance to bowl in the second innings at Manchester due to 2 days of rain and @ICC still issue fines and take 10 WTC points of us for slow over rates! That makes a lot of sense... 🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/NKuGI61n2n
— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) August 2, 2023
What next for Australia?
Australia will continue on the road and will next head to South Africa to play three T20Is and five ODIs.
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