Online Reporter
LONDON. — England’s dreams of a maiden appearance in the World Test Championship (WTC) final suffered a blow after they were docked 12 points for their slow over-rate in the comprehensive defeat by New Zealand at The Oval on Sunday.
New Zealand levelled the three-Test series with a 253-run victory against England, who were found 12 overs short of the target. The home side have been fined 50percent of their match fees but losing 12 WTC points will sting more.
“England interim captain Joe Root admitted the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, eliminating the need for a formal hearing,” the governing International Cricket Council said in a statement.
England remain seventh in the WTC standings but their points percentage dropped from 34.72 to 26.38. The top two teams in the standings, positions currently held by Australia and South Africa, will face off in the WTC final at Lord’s next year.
Regular captain Ben Stokes will return to lead England in the third and final Test against New Zealand in Nottingham. All-rounder Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were suspended from the second Test after a curfew breach at a London nightclub.Meanwhile,— Matt Henry produced New Zealand’s best ever bowling figures against England, taking the last five wickets in a deadly display of pace to wrap up a 253-run win in the second test at The Oval and level the series at 1-1 on Sunday.Starting the fifth day on 182-5 chasing a huge 463 for an unlikely victory, England folded inside 50 minutes and were all out for 209 as Henry ran riot.
He took all five wickets that fell in the morning to end with match figures of 11 for 109.Henry began his onslaught with the crucial removal of Joe Root lbw for 77 off the first ball of his second over of the day—Root adding only two runs to his overnight score.
Two balls later he flattened Jofra Archer’s middle stump with an unplayable ball that scuttled low. Continuing to torment England, in his next over he had Matthew Fisher chopping on to his stumps without scoring and with his next ball Josh Tongue edged to Daryl Mitchell.
Henry then finished it off in style by bowling Jordan Cox with an in-swinging yorker to finish the innings with six for 29 to go with the five for 80 in the first innings.
“Didn’t expect it to unfold like that, but it saved a hot day in the field,” said man of the match Henry, who suffered a back spasm in the defeat at Lord’s in the first test.“The way the guys applied themselves with the ball was relentless.”
MISERABLE END FOR ENGLAND
It was a sorry end for an England side who have now lost six of their last eight Tests.
After a relatively even first day of the match, New Zealand seized control on the second morning when a shambolic England bowling display allowed them to put on more than 100 runs for their last three wickets with Glenn Phillips making a century. Henry took the crucial wickets of Root and Harry Brook in England’s first innings — a feat he also managed in the second.
Having earned a 100-run first-innings lead, New Zealand then piled on the pressure in their second innings with Henry Nicholls making a fluent 121.
—Reuters.
