The Black Caps and England have both been deducted three World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over rate in their opening Test of the series in Christchurch.
Both the Black Caps and England were found to have been three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration — with one point penalised for every over they were found to be short.
Team captains Tom Latham and Ben Stokes pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the points deductions, meaning the teams skipped a formal hearing.
Stokes took to Instagram on Wednesday morning posting on his story "good on you ICC" followed by three shrugging emojis.
Stokes also wrote that they "finished the game with 10 hours of play still left" in response to the points deduction.
Both teams were also fined 15% of their match fees. On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton levelled the charges.
Lost points impacts rankings, hopes for WTC final
The points deduction is a blow for the Black Caps' already slim hopes of making the World Test Championship final, as they drop behind Sri Lanka from fourth to fifth in the standings.
The Black Caps now have a points percentage of 47.92% and can only reach 55.36% with victories from their remaining two Test matches against England.
This likely wouldn’t be enough for them to make the World Test Championship final set to be held at Lord’s next year.
Even if the Black Caps win the last two Test matches against England, they still need plenty of other results to go their way.
Despite England’s eight-wicket win over the Black Caps at Hagley Oval, they were already not in contention to reach the World Test Championship final as they now sit in sixth, with a points percentage of 42.5%.
India still top the standings, with South Africa in second place just ahead of Australia in third.
SHARE ME