Ben Stokes has said that he has been in a protest against ICC over the fines issued on slow over rates. (Reuters)
Ben Stokes has said that he has been in a protest against the International Cricket Council over the fines issued by the world body on slow over rates, by not signing any post-match paperwork since the Ashes.
ICC rules state that Test matches must be played at a rate of 15 overs per hour and there is an additional time of 30 minutes in a day to make up for a slower over rate. But according to Stokes, over rates can be maintained in Asia where spin-dominant teams quickly run through their overs whereas the rules aren’t amended for countries where pace is the predominant currency.
In the previous WTC Final, Australia were fined 80% of their match fees at the Oval while India were fined 100% of theirs as well.
“The most frustrating thing is it’s an issue depending on where you are in the world and the style of cricket that’s played,” said Stokes, according to the Guardian. “There is never an over-rate issue in Asia because of how much spin is bowled. I think there needs to be some consideration around how over rates differ when it’s a seam-dominant Test match.”
“I’ve not signed an over-rate sheet since Lord’s in the Ashes,” Stokes said, claiming his frustrations were shared by other teams. “I won’t until we hear some communication back from the ICC. We’re still waiting for that. But they still take the fines off you anyway.”
Stokes said that there was a lack of understanding of why slower over rates will happen and that the ICC’s approach of one shoe fits all was not something that was conducive or helpful in changing the situation. One of the issues, according to Stokes, was field placements and how he as a captain liked to constantly change his field – an occurrence that makes the game a battle between dwindling over rates and providing competitive advantages to bowlers via field settings.
“We’re not purposely being slower,’ Stokes added. “It’s hard to find where you can get the time back when you’re out in the middle. As a captain, I like to change things quite a lot. The field could be completely different [for each] six balls in an over. But that’s not taken into consideration and getting told to just hurry up isn’t going to fix it.”
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