England fined for slow over-rate

Andrew Strauss has been rested for England's forthcoming tour of Bangladesh, but he may yet miss more matches for England after his team was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during the course of South Africa's victory in the final Test of the series at the Wanderers.

In addition to the fine, if Strauss is found guilty of two further minor over-rate offences in Tests over the next 12 months, he will receive a one-match suspension as per the provisions of the new ICC Code of Conduct. Consequently, sluggish bowlers could mean that Strauss misses a game during the home series against Bangladesh and Pakistan this summer or, more importantly, during England's defence of the Ashes in Australia at the end of the year.

As captain, Strauss was fined 20 per cent of his match fee, in accordance with ICC regulations regarding minor over-rate offences, while his players were docked 10 per cent after Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, ruled that England were one over short of their target over-rate at the end of the match, with time allowances for breaks in play taken into consideration.