Dec 5 – New Zealand captain Tom Latham has joined his England counterpart Ben Stokes in suggesting that the required over-rate in test matches might need to be reviewed for matches involving a lot of seam bowling.
Both teams were fined and had World Test Championship points deducted for failing to keep to the rate of 15 overs an hour in the first test in Christchurch, which England won by eight wickets on Sunday.
Stokes reacted to the punishment with a sarcastic post on social media pointing out that the test was concluded more than two days early before later revealing later that he had been refusing to sign over-rate sheets as a protest.
“The frustration stems back to the Ashes,” he said in Wellington ahead of Friday’s start to the second test.
“It’s been over a year now since I made some comments about the over-rates to the match referee and umpires, and to this day we’re yet to hear any response back from the ICC.
“There’s never an over-rate issue in Asia because of how much spin is bowled. There needs to be some consideration around how over-rates are going to differ, in particular when it’s going to be a seam-dominant test match.”
Penalties for slow over-rates have contributed to England being already out of the running for next year’s WTC final, while the three points they lost for Christchurch have damaged New Zealand’s slim hopes.
“It’s certainly a challenge to get through those 15 overs an hour if the ball’s flying to the boundary a little bit more than usual,” Latham said on Thursday.
“We’ve seen in the subcontinent where a lot of spin’s used, where that isn’t necessarily an issue.
“But maybe that’s something that does need to be reviewed because we’re certainly try our best, and no team wants to be behind in the over-rate. But it certainly is a challenge.”
With both sides unchanged and only one specialist spinner among the 22 players who will start the second test, England and New Zealand look likely to fall foul of the over-rate regulations again at Basin Reserve.
Fans certainly got their money’s worth the last time the teams met at the ground in early 2023 when the Black Caps won a remarkable test by one run after following on, denying England a first series win in New Zealand since 2008.
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