Former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned the ICC’s decision to punish solely the hosts for a poor over rate following the thrilling Lord’s Test match between England and India. Vaughan has not been happy with the ICC’s decision to deduct England two World Test Championship (WTC) points and punish them 10% of their match fees.
There was an exciting conclusion to the third Test of the current England-India series at Lord’s. India missed a 193-run target by 22 runs in the fourth innings of the match, which ended with both teams posting equal first-inning scores. Despite winning in the end, the ICC punished the Three Lions for their poor over rate. Vaughan, in the meantime, made the point that even India ought to have been punished for their excessive rate.
“Let’s face it, both of the teams at Lords had quite low rates. I don’t understand how only one team has received criticism,” he commented on X.
Let’s be honest both teams over rates at Lords were very very poor .. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me .. #ENGvsIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 16, 2025
After deducting all time allowances, teams lose one point for each over short, as stated in WTC playing regulations Article 16.11.2. England lost two WTC points after being discovered two overs short, falling from 24 to 22 points and from second to third place in the rankings. Notably, Sri Lanka is now in second place.
Additionally, the players were penalised 5% of their match fee for each shortfall, for a total reduction of 10% under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Ben Stokes, the captain of England, took the penalty without a proper hearing.
When Ben Stokes is playing, England doesn’t lose many games: Michael Vaughan
The decision to reinstate star pacer Jofra Archer in the starting lineup was hailed by the former England captain, who also praised Stokes’ leadership.
“His contributions to the squad and his style of play in this broad sport over the years in Test match cricket are outstanding. When Ben Stokes is playing, England doesn’t lose many cricket matches. Vaughan stated on Cricbuzz, “I don’t think I have ever seen Ben lose when the pressure has been on and the game is on a knife edge.”
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