A frustrated Ben Stokes says he has raised his concerns about the issue of slow over rates with the International Cricket Council but has yet to hear back from the game's governing body.
England lost 15% of their match fees and three World Test Championship points for bowling too slowly in their recent victory in the first Test against New Zealand.
The Black Caps were also penalised in a Test that finished a day and a half early at Hagley Oval.
England were previously slapped with a 19-point deduction for the same reason at the end of the 2023 Ashes series.
Stokes took to Instagram after the latest punishment by the ICC, saying, "good on you ICC" and pointing out the sides had "finished the game with 10 hours of play still left".
Speaking a day later, Stokes revealed he had raised a number of issues with ICC match referee Andy Pycroft following the Lord's Test against Australia 18 months ago but had yet to receive any response.
As a result, he declined to sign the official sheet to acknowledge England's latest infringement — essentially a symbolic protest given the sanctions were formally accepted, but one that reflects his growing annoyance.
"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," he said.
"From a players point of view, I'm not the only one who shares this opinion that we would like to have a lot more communication with the ICC around this. I've not signed an over-rate sheet since Lord's in the Ashes, just until we hear some communication back from the ICC that we're still waiting for.
"It needs to be discussed I think, from the ICC to the captains of all the teams. It's been over a year and we've had no communication whatsoever. When you're having results in games and you know teams are losing out on points — getting fined and stuff like that — it's not working at the moment."
Stokes said over rates in Tests differed widely depending on the conditions. Spinners got through their overs more quickly than seam bowlers, and field changes also had an effect.
The second Test starts at the Basin Reserve tomorrow. England have named an unchanged team. New Zealand will likely name theirs in the morning.
Watch the Black Caps' summer of cricket live and exclusive on TVNZ+ and TVNZ Duke
SHARE ME