ICC brutally punishes New Zealand and England; shuts WTC final hopes

As the first Test between New Zealand and England comes to an end, both the teams have been fined some portion of their match fees and have also been penalized some crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points due to slow over rate.

While England are already out of contention for the final spot, New Zealand were in with a chance. However, the current deduction of points is a major blow to New Zealand and their chances of qualifying for the next year's final in June.

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New Zealand penalised with crucial WTC points

New Zealand now have a points percentage of 47.92 and can only move up to 55.36% even if they win their remaining Tests of the series against England. As a result, the Kiwis have now dropped from joint-fourth to fifth in the standings.

Both the teams have been fined 15 percent of their match fees and penalised crucial WTC points. They now face a tough task to qualify for the next year's WTC final in June 2025.

They need to win the next two Tests against England at any cost if they aim to reach the WTC final at Lord's. Both the teams were found to be three overs short of their target after their time was taken into consideration.

Both the teams have been penalised

The teams have been penalised one point for each over they have fallen short of. The respective captains Tom Latham and Ben Stokes have accepted the offences and pleaded guilty, so there was no need for any formal hearing.

The charges were levelled by the on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire, and the fourth official. Match referee David Boon imposed the sanctions. Boon is also a part of ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.

New Zealand had an excellent time recently as they stunned India by defeating them 3-0 at home. With that win, their chances of qualifying for the WTC final had risen quite a bit. But the recent sanctions have severely affected their chances.

England defeat New Zealand to go 1-0 up

On top of this, the Kiwis even lost the first Test of the series to England in a crushing manner. They were far from their best and just could not stay ahead of the game. The visiting England side and registered a thumping win.

The only positive thing for the Kiwis was the form of Kane Williamson who announced his return to form in a spectacular fashion. Williamson two half-centuries in the match but was still unable to take his team home.

Meanwhile, there were a no. of excellent knocks from England. Harry Brook smashed a brilliant hundred while Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes also played vital knocks. Fast bowler Brydon Carse picked up 10 wickets in the match and also scored a crucial 33*.

The second Test will be played from December 6 in Wellington and the home side will be aiming to make a solid comeback.