England were accused of maintaining sluggish overrates during the third Test of the ongoing series against India at Lord’s. The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) sanction did not sit well with England captain Ben Stokes, as his team was forced to miss out on points in the World Test Championship, resulting in a lower ranking on the table despite an outright victory over the Indians.
Ben Stokes is now pushing for the ICC to take a more reasonable stance when it comes to authorizing the charges for slow over-rates in a Test match. The star all-rounder has stated that over-rates should be established based on the region in which a match is played, and that the method of levelling penalties should vary depending on geography.
“Over-rate isn’t something I worry about, but that’s not saying 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,” he said as quoted by Yorkshire Post.
“Common sense would think you should look at changing how the over-rates are timed in different continents. 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 of seam bowled.”
Ben Stokes
“Don’t think people watch cricket for over-rates” – Ben Stokes on over-rates
The New Zealand-born captain believes that a captain cannot constantly prioritize the rate at which overs are bowled in an hour, because a game of cricket is about much more than just the passage of time. Handing the ball to a spinner solely to increase the over-rate is not always a sensible move, as the conditions play an important role in selecting the correct sort of bowlers to win a match for the side.
“There are times during games where there effectively isn’t a game on the line, where you will then just throw the ball to a spinner to get your overs round. You’re playing in an international game where you’re just trying to get your over-rate back. I don’t think people want to come and watch that.”
Ben Stokes
England bring Liam Dawson in for Manchester Test
The fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 will begin on July 23 at Old Trafford, and the Three Lions have already announced their lineup. The hosts were forced to make one change, with injured Shoaib Bashir giving way to left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Liam Dawson.
England Playing XI for 4th Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer
