The England cricket team has been penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a slow over-rate during the third Test match against India at Lord's. The incident has resulted in the team losing valuable points in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and incurring a fine.

England was found to be two overs short of their target after time allowances were considered. Consequently, they were docked two WTC points and fined 10 percent of their match fee. This penalty is in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which deals with minimum over-rate offenses. The players are fined 5% of their match fee for every over the team fails to bowl in the allotted time. Furthermore, Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions dictates a penalty of one point for each over short.

The penalty has affected England's position in the WTC standings. Their points have dropped from 24 to 22 out of a possible 36, causing their points percentage to fall from 66.67% to 61.11%. As a result, England has slipped from second to third place in the WTC points table, with Sri Lanka now claiming the second spot.

England captain Ben Stokes accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Richie Richardson, negating the need for a formal hearing. The charges were brought forward by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, along with third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd.

The match itself was closely contested, with England securing a 22-run victory against India. After both teams scored the same total in their first innings, England set a target of 192 runs for India. Despite a lower-order counterattack from India, England held their nerve to win the match and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Every single point matters as the teams look to make it to the final of 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.