Bangladesh fined 5% of their match fees for maintaining slow over rate during 2023 ODI World Cup clash against England
Bangladesh have been fined five percent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over rate during their 137-run loss against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday. The Shakib Al Hasan-led side conceded 364-9 in the first innings and managed only 227 in reply.
In an added blow to the defeat, Bangladesh were found to be one over short of the target at which the 50 overs were supposed to be bowled. Match referee Javagal Srinath came to the verdict after time allowances were taken into consideration.
According to Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which includes minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five percent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
The charges raised by the match referee were levelled by the on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Paul Wilson, as well as third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth umpire Kumar Dharmasena.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan accepted the sanctions, and as a result, there will be no need for a formal hearing. Earlier in the tournament, Sri Lanka were fined 10 percent of their match fee for a similar offence during their loss to South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
"We planned well, but we couldn't execute" - Shakib Al Hasan on Bangladesh's loss to England
Bangladesh started their ODI World Cup campaign with a win over Afghanistan but could not extend their form against heavyweights England.
After opting to bowl first, Bangladesh struggled to assert themselves as England coasted to a huge total while batting first. Dawid Malan recorded a hundred while Joe Root chipped in with his second consecutive fifty in the tournament.
In reply, the Bangla Tigers' batting unit was blown away by Reece Topley's brilliant opening spell. Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim recorded fifties, but it did not prove to be enough as Bangladesh fell well short of the target.
Opining that a target of around 320 would have been a realistic score to chase down, Shakib Al Hasan said during the post-match presentation:
We planned well, but we couldn't execute. The ball was swinging nicely, needed to put in the right areas and build momentum. Once they got the momentum it was tough to contain them. I think the position they were in, they could have scored 380-390, we restricted them well. But I think 320 would have been a good total to chase here."
Bangladesh are scheduled to face New Zealand in their next league-stage match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.