New Zealand’s hopes for qualifying for the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2025) final took a major blow after the ICC imposed point deductions on them and England for slow overrate in the recently concluded first Test in Christchurch.

Both teams were penalized 15% of their match fees and stripped of three key World Test Championship competition points, adding to the excitement of the ongoing cycle's final stages.

While England are already out of contention for next year's final despite their impressive eight-wicket victory at Hagley Oval, the loss of competition points is a big setback for New Zealand, who fall from equal fourth to outright fifth in the standings as a result.

New Zealand presently has a points percentage of 47.92 percent and can only increase to 55.36 percent with victories in their next two games versus England.

It means the inaugural WTC 2021 winners will face a difficult task in qualifying for following year's one-off Test in June 2025, with two wins against England and a number of other results required to reach the Lord's decider.

After time allowances were applied, New Zealand and England were both judged to be three overs short of the mark, with each team penalized one point for each over they were found to be short.

Both captains, Tom Latham of New Zealand and Ben Stokes of England, pled guilty to the crime and accepted the suggested sentence, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth official Kim Cotton levelled the charges, with David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposing the sanctions.

(ICC inputs)