Ben Stokes' Sharp Swipe At ICC After England's WTC Points Deduction

England Test captain Ben Stokes hit back at the International Cricket Council (ICC) following a slow-over-rate penalty on his team after the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch, claiming that the match was finished with "10 hours of play still left". The race to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final gained a lot of spice and intensity as New Zealand and England were docked three points each for maintaining a slow over-rate in the opening Test of their three-match series.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced sanctions against New Zealand and England for failing to maintain the required over-rate during the series opener in Christchurch.

As a result, both teams were fined 15 per cent of their match fees and penalised three crucial WTC competition points, adding another layer of intrigue to the race for the final.