The International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed sanctions on Pakistan for a slow over rate during last week's Test match against England in Birmingham. As a result, Pakistan were deducted 11 points in the World Test Championship (WTC) and their players were docked 50 percent of their match fees.
According to an ICC statement released on Monday, the visitors were 11 overs short of their target as England won the match by eight wickets to sweep the series 3-0. The sanction was imposed by Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees after on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Allahudien Palekar and fourth umpire Russell Warren levelled the charge.
The deduction leaves Pakistan rooted to the bottom of the standings with five points in nine matches. Australia, who have won eight of their 10 Tests in the current cycle, lead the table with defending champions South Africa second. The top two teams meet in the final at the Oval in London in June 2027.
Pakistan's next Tests are against Sri Lanka in a two-match home series in November. It was England's first Test series win since 2024, while Pakistan have now lost 16 of their last 21 games.
England appeared set for a quickfire win in three days on Friday before debutant fast bowler Razaullah launched an audacious assault with the bat, clubbing nine sixes as he raced to 81 off 63 balls. The 21-year-old number nine, who also took four wickets in England's first innings, put on 121 for the ninth wicket with fellow paceman Abbas (42) as England floundered.
Razaullah's heroics changed the mood music, but they came too little, too late for Pakistan, who endured a miserable series, losing the first Test by an innings and 103 runs and the second by 194 runs. The tourists sent seven players home after their crushing defeat in the second Test at Lord's and brought in seven replacements, with Razaullah among them. They also sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul as their tour descended into chaos.
Pakistan made four changes to their side for the third Test, and they put up a fight despite being dismissed for a paltry 133 in their first innings. Captain Babar Azam admitted his team would have to take stock after a one-sided series. "We had a couple of changes after losing two matches. Playing in England is very difficult. We were trying to do our best in the third match," he said. "We need to sit down and look hard at our mistakes, decide our playing XI."
Source: www.aljazeera.com