Australia are set to earn some reprieve on over-rate penalties after the ICC reduced the sanctions handed down for on-field tardiness in Test cricket.
This year's Ashes has been one of the most thrilling contests in years, but has also been tied down by poor over-rates with several overs lost on the majority of days of play.
Both Australia and England have fallen behind in each of the first three Tests of this series, with each facing heavy fines and points penalties in the World Test Championship.
In the first two Tests alone, Australia had been staring at the possibility of a 13-point penalty on the WTC ladder, significant given teams are only awarded 12 points for a win.
However, Australia will be allowed to keep some of those points under new rules passed at the ICC annual conference held in Durban this week.
Teams will still be penalised one point for every over they are behind in a Test, however if they bowl the opposition side out inside 80 overs no penalties will apply from that innings.
Australia missed the maiden WTC final in 2021 as a result of a four-point over-rates penalty from the previous year’s Boxing Day Test.
While under the new rules Australia would still have been penalised for the 2020 Boxing Day Test - as India batted 115 overs in their first innings - the softening of the regulation lessens the chances of suffering such severe consequences.
England were bowled out inside 80 overs in their second innings at Edgbaston and first innings at both Lord’s and Headingley, meaning Australia’s points penalty will be somewhat reduced.
Players will also only be fined five per cent of their match fee for every over behind rather than 10 per cent previously, with fines capped at 50 per cent.
"The ICC World Test Championship has injected renewed energy into Test cricket giving it compelling context," ICC Men’s Cricket Committee Sourav Ganguly said.
"In the last edition we only had 12 draws in 69 matches, and we want to ensure that trend continues whilst we’re giving fans the best value for money and keeping over-rates up.
“The Men’s Cricket Committee felt strongly that over-rate penalties in the form of WTC points deductions should remain but recommended that players should not have 100 per cent of their match fee at risk.
"We believe this provides a balance between maintaining over-rates and ensuring we are not deterring players from playing Test cricket."
The ICC also announced women will also collect the same prize money from World Cups as their male counterparts, after previously being awarded significantly less.
The issue was first highlighted in 2020, when Cricket Australia topped up the prize money to its players when they won the home T20 World Cup.
As recently as this year, Australia's women were awarded $1.45m for winning the T20 World Cup, while England's men were given $2.3m for their victory last year.
From next year's women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, that pay gap will no longer exist.
"This is a significant moment in the history of our sport and I am delighted that men's and women's cricketers competing at ICC global events will now be rewarded equally," ICC Chairman Greg Barclay said.
