England won the toss and opted to bat first in AUS vs ENG 2nd Test of Ashes 2025.
Former England pacer Steven Finn has accused Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith of deliberately wasting time towards the end of the opening day of the AUS vs ENG 2nd Test of the Ashes 2025 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
With Joe Root finally smashing his maiden Test century Down Under and England at a strong 325/9, the visitors lost over 13 overs to reach the 80-over mark that triggers penalty calculations.
The batting under lights against pink balls is considered tough as the ball swings and seams a lot. England were going strongly at 261/6 at one stage but were reduced to 274/9, with Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse returning to the dugout in the space of just overs, and more than 13 overs still left to get the 80-over mark to activate the over-rate penalty clause. Despite being too much behind the over-rate, Australia captain Steve Smith took his time and ensured that his side wouldn’t have to face a new and hard pink ball under the lights.
Finn, commenting on TNT Sports, spotted Smith delaying field settings and adjustments minimally between balls to run down the clock.
“There’s certainly a chance here that Steve Smith took a long time to set the field there, and he’s ended up with everyone on the boundary. He’s now changing the field between balls, which certainly strikes me as a good time for Australia to be delaying things. Means that if this last wicket does fall, each minute that goes by, it’s a minute that England won’t have that bright pink ball in their hand in these conditions. The evening session, far harder to bat, especially when you’re new to the crease,” Finn said on TNT Sports after observing Smith’s tactics to delay the proceedings.
A few overs later, Smith was seen wasting time again, perhaps releasing this innings would not take into consideration potential over-rate penalties if they bowl England out under 80 overs.
“And Smith is just delaying things again. Definitely a tactic here, and the umpires should have a word with him. Every second that ticks by, Australia will have fewer seconds to bat this evening. Carey is now slowly taking his cap off and meandering up to the stumps. It really is obvious. Fielder’s being moved 3 yards to the left, 3 yards to the right. The field is all spread,” added Finn.
However, it also worked in England’s favour as Root, along with Archer, added an unbeaten 61 runs together in just 44 balls that saw England go past the 300-run mark. The Ben Stokes-led side ended the day at 325/9 in 74 overs, that’s 16 overs less than 90 overs the day rule. However, it also leaves England with a chance to bat till 80 overs in the innings.
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Under ICC Playing Conditions Section 12.4.9.1, if a fielding side bowls out the opposition in 80 overs or fewer per innings, without exceeding the minimum over rate, that thing is excluded from match over-rate calculations.
“If the fielding team bowls out the batting team in 80 overs or less in any particular innings and the Minimum Over Rate requirement for that innings has not been exceeded (taking into account all of the time allowances described above), no account shall be taken of the actual over rate in that innings when calculating the actual over rate at the end of such Match.”
This means, If Australia bowl out England inside 80 overs in the first innings, the hosts would not face any penalty despite their time-wasting tactics. As a result, the slow over-rate would not be considered when accounting for the overall over-rate for the match. Moreover, if England get bundled out under 160 over across two innings, there will not be any sanctions imposed on Australia.
Notably, England were docked 19 World Test Championship (WTC) points last season.
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