The Ashes: Match-fee fines rub salt in English wounds after first-test capitulation to Australia

England have been fined their entire match fees and docked five World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow rate of overs during their nine-wicket defeat by Australia in the first Ashes test.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ruled Joe Root's side were five overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, with match referee David Boon imposing the sanction.

Players are fined 20 percent of their match fee for every over their side fail to bowl in the allotted time, while the team are penalised one point for each over short.

Australian batter Travis Head was also fined 15 percent of his match fee for using bad language in the 77th over of their first innings, when he was beaten by a ball from England all-rounder Ben Stokes.

One demerit point was also added to Head's disciplinary record, after his first offence in a 24-month period.

When a player attains four or more demerit points in a two-year period, they are converted into suspension points that could bring a ban.

Nathan Lyon captured a long-awaited 400th test victim and spun Australia to an emphatic nine-wicket victory in the test, with England losing eight wickets on day four in Brisbane.

The second of the five tests will run from December 16-20 in Adelaide.

Reuters.