West Indies have just received a big blow, as they have been penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a slow over-rate during the second Test match against Sri Lanka. Although the Caribbean side secured four WTC points after the rain-affected game in a draw on July 7, the ICC later removed two points from their tally on July 8, dealing a huge setback to their hopes of finishing in the top two and reaching the WTC 2027 final.
Why 10 per cent fine on West Indies players?
Earlier on Wednesday, the ICC confirmed the news through a statement. Other than the two-points deduction the Caribbean players faced a 10 per cent fine of their match fees for the slow over-rate offense.
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“West Indies have been fined 10 percent of their match fee following their recent Test match against Sri Lanka in North Sound, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda. The team have also been docked two ICC World Test Championship points due to the same, with the two-match series having been part of the ongoing WTC cycle," the ICC stated.
The punishment was imposed by Emirates ICC Elite Panel match referee Javagal Srinath following the Windies side was found to be two overs behind the required rate once all permitted time allowances had been taken into account.
According to the Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, teams are fined five percent of their match fees for every over they fall short of the required rate, with the maximum fine decided to be around 50 per cent. Since the Caribbean side was found to be overs behind, the players were handed a 10 percent match-fee fine. Despite the penalty, the Caribbean side reigned at eighth in the WTC 2025-27 table, although their points percentage declined from 16.67 to 15.00.
Here is the updated WTC points table:
| Position | Team | Matches | Wins | Defeats | Draws | Penalty | Points | PCT % |
| 1. | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 87.50 |
| 2. | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3. | New Zealand | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 72.22 |
| 4. | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 5. | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 6. | Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 41.67 |
| 7. | England | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 38 | 24.36 |
| 8. | West Indies | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 15.00 |
| 9. | Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 8.33 |
What's next for the West Indies?
After West Indies secured a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in the two-game Test series, the Caribbean side will prepare themselves to lock horns against Pakistan in a two-match Test series at home. The first Test match will start from July 25 in Tarouba, Trinidad, while the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad will host the second Test from August 2.