Ben Stokes urges ‘common sense’ in slow-over rate rules

England captain Ben Stokes has opened up on his team being docked two points for maintaining a slow-over rate during the third Test against India at the Lord’s in London, which they won by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

With England losing two valuable points, they had to slide down in the WTC 2025-27 standings from second to third rank, while Sri Lanka moved ahead of them. While Sri Lanka has a PCT of 66.67 percent, England has 61.11 percent.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Stokes wanted the International Cricket Council (ICC) to have a real hard look at how the slow-over rate penalties are structured. He added that the apex body should apply a little bit of common sense and have different rules for different continents, as there is a difference of ratio in spinners and pacers sharing their spells.

“Over-rate isn’t something I worry about, but that’s not saying I purposely slow things down. I do understand the frustration around it, but I honestly think there needs to be a real hard look at how it’s structured,” Stokes said in the pre-match press conference.

“Common sense would think you should look at changing how the over-rates are timed in different continents. You can’t have the same rules in Asia where spin is bowling 70 percent of the overs to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it’s going to be 70, 80 percent of seam bowled,” he added.

The New Zealand-born further feels that a captain cannot always prioritize the rate at which the overs are being bowled in an hour, since a game of cricket is much more than just the essence of time. Handing the ball to a spinner just to pace up the over-rate would not always be a wise decision, since the conditions are also a decisive factor in picking the right type of bowlers to win a match for the team.

Furthermore, Ben Stokes asserted that it wouldn’t always be a wise decision to throw the ball to a spinner to get the over-rate back in line, adding that people don’t want to come and watch that.

“There are times during games where there effectively isn’t a game on the line, where you will then just throw the ball to a spinner to get your overs round. You’re playing in an international game where you’re just trying to get your over-rate back. I don’t think people want to come and watch that,” he concluded.

England will take on India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, starting on Wednesday, July 23.

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