West Indies Punished By ICC, Suffer Massive WTC Setback

West Indies [Source: AFP]

The West Indies cricket team escaped with a high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka in the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. 

The outcome helped West Indies secure a rare 1-0 Test series victory over the visitors, after having won the series-opener by an innings and 217 runs late last month. 

Shortly after achieving the favorable verdict, the West Indies team has now been punished by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching an ICC Code of Conduct. 

West Indies docked WTC 2025-27 points

The West Indies cricket team, already struggling at eighth position on the nine-team WTC 2025-27 points table, has been penalized by the ICC on Wednesday, July 8, after the conclusion of their high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka in Antigua.

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West Indies players were fined 10 percent of their match fees and were also docked two points on the WTC 2025-27 standings. The sanction was imposed by match referee and former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath.

As it happened, West Indies players were punished for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka in the second Test of their two-match series. 

As confirmed by the ICC on their official website, the hosts were ruled to be two overs short of their target after taking time allowances into consideration. 

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Ahsan Raza levelled the charges against the West Indies cricket team.

West Indies captain Roston Chase pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction from the match referee. 

West Indies’ PCT slip to 15 after ICC punishment

West Indies secured a high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka in the second Test to win the two-match series 1-0, thus recording their first series win in the ongoing 2025-27 WTC cycle. The hosts also enhanced their PCT to 16.67, by reaching 20 points after 10 matches. 

However, the latest ICC punishment brought West Indies’ tally down to 18 points, and they are now holding an even worse NRR of 15. 

As of now, the men from the Caribbean are ranked eighth in the 2025-27 WTC points table, ahead only of cellar-dwellers Pakistan. 

Shai Hope, Justin Greaves ton up in Antigua exhibition

After Sri Lanka mounted 549-9d in 139.3 overs across Days 1 and 2 of the second Test in Antigua, West Indies responded by charting 499 runs in 166.5 overs. Shai Hope composed 112 runs off 243 balls with 10 boundaries, and Justin Greaves top-scored in the innings with his epic 180 off 325 deliveries. 

Left to chase down 302 runs from the remaining two sessions of the final day, West Indies openers John Campbell and Brandon King punched out cautious half-centuries to fight off a draw. 

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