'Let’s be honest...': Michael Vaughan slams ICC for only docking points from England

England have been docked two points in the ICC World Test Championship for maintaining a poor over rate during the third Test against India at Lord’s. But former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned why India were not punished despite also being equally slow.

England won the Lord’s Test by 22 runs, taking their tally to 24 points from three matches. But after the ICC’s penalty, their points have dropped to 22 out of a possible 36, and their percentage has gone down from 66.67 to 61.11 percent. Because of this, England have slipped from second to third place in the WTC standings, with Sri Lanka moving up to second behind leaders Australia.

Vaughan slams ICC

Vaughan took to his official social media handle to express his disappointment, saying that both teams had poor over rates at Lord’s and questioning why only England were penalised while India escaped punishment.

“Let’s be honest both teams over rates at Lords were very very poor .. How only 1 team has been reprimanded is beyond me,” Vaughan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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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

The ICC said England were punished under Article 16.11.2 of the WTC playing conditions. The rule says that a team is penalised one point for each over short after time allowances are considered.

Apart from losing two points, England’s players have also been fined 10 percent of their match fee.

WTC 2025-27 standings

Australia are currently on top of the table with 100 percent points after winning all their three matches in this cycle. Sri Lanka are second, England third, and India are fourth with one win from three Tests (33.33%). Bangladesh are fifth with 16.67 percent.

West Indies are sixth after losing all three of their matches against Australia so far. New Zealand, Pakistan, and defending champions South Africa are yet to start their campaigns in the new cycle.