Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri has warned England that they could face the same fate as Australia following their victory in the third Test against India at Lord’s. England beat India by a narrow margin of 22 runs in the third Test and took a 2-1 lead in the series.
However, despite their win, the Ben Stokes-led side has been docked two points for the slow over rate. As a result, England have fallen from second to third position in the World Test Championship (WTC) table, with Sri Lanka now overtaking them to claim the second spot.
Recently, Shastri also shared his thoughts on the matter and said that it could cost them going ahead in the cycle as Australia couldn’t qualify for the inaugural edition of the WTC final due to points deduction.
“It hurts, as Australia found out in the first cycle of WTC. They had a slower over rate against India, and it cost them the second place. New Zealand qualified for that final. You’ve got to be fully aware of all this,” Shastri told ICC.
Furthermore, England should just focus on winning matches, which will help them make up for the loss of points.
“There will be certain games where they will probably make up for it but I think more than that, more than the over rate, you have to think of winning. If you focus on winning, in the last six months, you can probably try to adjust. See how you would get those two points back. But, you’ve got to win. That’s more important. If you keep winning, that won’t matter,” he added.
England failed to qualify for the WTC final in the last two editions but have started this cycle positively, having won two out of the first three matches. Hence, they will be eager to continue their momentum and seal the series with another win in the fourth Test set to begin from July 23 at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
– Ends
