Hours after suffering a humiliating 253-run defeat to New Zealand in the second Test of the ongoing three-match home series, England were dealt another major blow on Sunday (June 21) after being penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for maintaining a slow over-rate at The Oval.
According to a release issued by the ICC, England were found guilty of a slow over-rate during the defeat and, as a result, their players have been fined 50 per cent of their match fees.
They have also been docked 12 points in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle after being ruled 12 overs short of the target once time allowances were taken into account.
England have been docked vital #WTC27 points owing to slow over rate during the
second Test against New Zealand.
More details 👇https://t.co/rnrIofvISm
— ICC (@ICC) June 21, 2026
With the latest sanction, England have slipped to seventh place in the WTC 2025-27 standings with 38 points, while their points percentage (PCT) has dropped from 34.72 to 26.38.
Updated WTC 2025-27 points table after ICC penalise England for slow over-rate in 2nd New Zealand Test
| POSITION | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WINS | DEFEATS | DRAWS | PENALTY | POINTS | PCT% |
| 1. | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 87.50 |
| 2. | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 66.67 |
| 5. | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 6. | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 7. | England | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 38 | 26.38 |
| 8. | Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 8.33 |
| 9. | West Indies | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.17 |
The sanction was imposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which deals with minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl within the allotted time.
As per Article 16.11.2 of the World Test Championship playing conditions, teams lose one championship point for each over they are short, resulting in England being docked 12 crucial points in the WTC standings.
England’s stand-in captain Joe Root admitted the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.
The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Nitin Menon, third umpire Rod Tucker, and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.
11 wickets for Matt Henry
Fast bowler Matt Henry, who dismissed five England batters in the first innings, picked up six wickets in the second innings on Sunday. His six-wicket haul helped him become only the second New Zealand bowler to claim five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match in England.
Henry finished the match with figures of 11 for 109 in 42.1 overs, breaking the record for the best bowling figures by a New Zealand bowler in a Test match against England in England.
