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The current World Test championship cycle - 2025 to 2027- came into effect when earlier in June, a Galle-based Test match took place between the sub-continental teams. Each and every point, this time around too, matters and vitally so. Which explains why teams are aggrieved on losing points by way of a penalty. This is what happened to England when for maintaining slow-over rate at the recent Lord's Test, the side docked useful points.
None of which has seen Ben Stokes a happy man as the English captain fired back at the ICC in reply to his team being stripped off 2 useful points in the contest against India. What made Ben Stokes very unhappy was the fact that besides being penalised for 2 points, the entire team were fined 10 percent of their match fees.
You can't have the same rules in Asia: Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes won Player of the match award after the Lords Test he collected five wickets at Lord's, including a decisive 3-for in the fourth innings of the game, wasn't gleaming at all and happened to share the following "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 70-80 per cent seam bowling."
Having said that, it is the very same Ben Stokes, currently in red hot form, particularly with the ball, that India will have to watch out for ahead of the fourth and the penultimate game at the Old Trafford (in Manchester). While a big knock still reamins elusive for Stokes, the right arm seamer who bowled the most overs by any English bowler would like to further make things tough for India, still searching for a win.
