Ben Stokes continues year-long protest against ICC, refuses to sign over rate charge sheets over lack of communication

England Test captain Ben Stokes continued his year-long protest against the International Cricket Council (ICC), as he once again refused to sign over rate charge sheet after England and New Zealand suffered over-rate penalties from their first Test in Christchurch. Stokes has yet to sign an over rate charge sheet since the Ashes Test at Lord's last year. England's Ben Stokes runs between the wicksts during the third day of the first Test cricket match between New Zealand and England at Hagley Oval(AFP)

England and New Zealand were both docked World Test Championship (WTC) points, along with a 15 per cent match fee, denting their hopes to make the WTC final next year in Lord's. ICC's act saw New Zealand drop from the fourth to the sixth spot in the points table. For England, they lost a total of 22 points during the ongoing 2023-25 WTC cycle owing to a slow over-rate penalty. In fact, they lost 19 of the 28 points they had gained during the Ashes 2023 series.

"The most frustrating thing, from both teams' points of view, is that the game finished early, there was a result. But I think the frustration actually stems back to last year in the Ashes where it was the first time I really brought it up to the match referee and the umpires," Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"I guess the most frustrating thing is that it's always an issue depending on where you are in the world and the style of cricket that's played. There's never an over-rate issue in Asia because of how much spin is played."

Stokes reveals reason behind his protest

Having earlier voiced his displeasure against ICC's rule for slow over-rate, Stokes, who was seen having a lengthy chat with match referee David Boon, who imposed the sanctions at the end of the First Test, revealed his reason for not signing the over rate sheet since the Ashes Test last year.

"The two conversations I've had with the match referees have actually been very good and the match referees have handled it very, very well and been very understanding from a player's point of view," Stokes said.

"But it's been over a year now since I made some comments around the over rates and still to this day we're yet to hear any response back from anyone at the ICC around that."

Former New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Oram, who is currently the assistant coach of the Kiwis, agreed to Stokes, but reckoned it was more a lesson learned for the Blackcaps.

"There are results in most Test matches now and runs are being scored at a frenetic pace and wickets are falling all over the place, there is a lot of entertainment," Oram said on Wednesday. "If you bowl 90 overs or 85 overs, there is a lot of stuff going on and I think we need to find a balance and getting some understanding.

"It's a lesson we're going to have to take on the chin and learn from. It just comes down to hustle, making sure guys are providing that energy and bowlers are doing their job and everyone is getting into position as quickly as they can."

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