The International Cricket Council fined Australia and England 50 per cent of their match fees on Wednesday for slow over-rates during an otherwise thrilling Ashes opener at Edgbaston. 

Cricket’s governing body said both teams had also been docked two World Test Championship points apiece for slow play. “Captains Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanctions, so there was no need for formal hearings,” the ICC said in a statement.  England’s dramatic two-wicket defeat in the first Ashes Test provided a blockbuster start to the latest edition of cricket’s greatest rivalry. An unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 55 between Australia captain Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday’s final day proved decisive, as the tourists chased down a target of 281. This was just England’s third defeat in 14 Tests since captain Stokes joined forces with coach Brendon McCullum last year. The second Ashes Test will be played at Lords from June 28.