England fined for slow over-rate in first T20I against Australia

England players have been fined 20 per cent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate against Australia in the first T20I in Southampton on Friday. Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Eoin Morgan’s side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

Morgan pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Martin Saggers and Alex Wharf, third umpire David Millns and fourth umpire Mike Burns leveled the charge.

England lead the series 1-0

However, England won’t mind the fine as they managed to win the game with a stunning comeback. After David Warner and Aaron Finch added 98 runs for the opening wicket, many felt that it will be a cakewalk for the visitors. But that wasn’t the case. The home team defended 39 runs in the last six overs when Australia had nine wickets in hand.

After Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell were dismissed in the 15th over by Adil Rashid, Australia lost their way completely and even Marcus Stoinis, despite staying in the middle till the end couldn’t take the team over the line. Apart from Rashid, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood and Tom Curran bowled exceptionally well to help England take the lead in the series.

The second T20I is set to be played on Sunday and England have a chance to seal the three-match series. However, they will have to put up a formidable show as the tourists will not repeat the mistakes and will be keen on levelling the series. England will have to be clinical in their approach and their bowlers should pick wickets in powerplay for that to happen.