'How only 1 team has been reprimanded....': Michael Vaughan slams ICC for 'unfair' over rate sanction on England after Lord's victory

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, has strongly criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) after England lost two points for a slow over-rate in their recent Test victory against India at Lord's. Vaughan questioned why only England was punished, saying that both teams were equally responsible for the slow play. His comments have brought back the discussion about how fairly the ICC handles over-rate penalties, especially since every World Test Championship (WTC) point is very important.

Vaughan's criticism on X

Vaughan went to X (formerly Twitter) to express his opinion directly. He stated that both teams' over rates at Lord's were very poor and questioned how only one team was penalised. This caused a lot of discussion among fans and experts, many of whom agreed with his opinion about the possible unfairness.

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

England was found to be two overs short after allowances were considered by referee Richie Richardson. This resulted in a loss of two WTC points and a 10 percent fine on their match fees. Due to this penalty, England dropped from second to third place in the WTC standings, with Sri Lanka moving to second. England captain Ben Stokes accepted the penalty to avoid a hearing, but the argument continued.

The over-rate problem and requests for fairness

According to Article 16.11.2 of the WTC rules, teams lose one point for each over they are short. While England was penalized, India did not receive any penalty even though Vaughan and others believed they also had a slow over-rate during the Lord's Test. This difference is what made Vaughan upset and caused the wider discussion.

The third Test was interesting because it had strategy and a close finish. There were delays, which could have been caused by the batting team wasting time or by long injury treatments. Vaughan and others think that these things made both teams play slowly, which makes the penalty on England seem unfair. A lot of cricket fans are worried about how over-rate rules are enforced and how they affect the WTC standings, especially in close series. 

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