Heaviest ODI defeat and ICC fine: South Africa's misery continues in England

NEW DELHI: South Africa’s woes deepened on Monday after their historic collapse against England, with the ICC slapping them with a fine for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third ODI at the Rose Bowl.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Match referee Javagal Srinath imposed the sanction after South Africa were found to be one over short of the target, even after allowances for time lost were considered. As per Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for each over not bowled in the allotted time.“Captain Temba Bavuma pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the ICC confirmed in a statement. Umpires Nitin Menon, Russell Warren, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and Mike Burns levelled the charge.The penalty only added to South Africa’s misery, coming a day after they suffered the heaviest defeat in men’s ODI history. Bowled out for just 72 in pursuit of England’s mammoth 415, the Proteas slumped to a record 342-run loss. The collapse lasted just 20.5 overs, narrowly sparing them the ignominy of breaking their lowest-ever total of 69 against Australia in 1993.England’s dominance was built on centuries from Jacob Bethell (110 off 82) and Joe Root, before Jofra Archer returned superb figures of 4-18 to dismantle the South African batting.Although South Africa had already sealed the three-match series 2-1, the crushing defeat and the fine have left them under pressure heading into the T20I series starting Wednesday.