Ben Stokes' Sharp Swipe At ICC After England's World Test Championship Points Deduction

England Test captain Ben Stokes hit back at the International Cricket Council (ICC) following a slow-over-rate penalty on his team after the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch, claiming that the match was finished with "10 hours of play still left". The race to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final gained a lot of spice and intensity as New Zealand and England were docked three points each for maintaining a slow over-rate in the opening Test of their three-match series.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced sanctions against New Zealand and England for failing to maintain the required over-rate during the series opener in Christchurch.

As a result, both teams were fined 15 per cent of their match fees and penalised three crucial WTC competition points, adding another layer of intrigue to the race for the final.

Taking to Instagram, Stokes said, "Good on you ICC (accompanied by three shrugging emojis). "Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left."

Ben Stokes' Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/X2GYPilr2U

The ICC stated, "New Zealand and England were both found to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, with sides penalised one point for each over they were found short."

England skipper Stokes and New Zealand captain Tom Latham accepted the charges and the proposed sanctions, negating the need for a formal hearing.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock, and fourth official Kim Cotton, while the sanctions were imposed by David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.

England, already out of contention for next year's final, secured an 8-wicket victory