England won Cricket World Cup after ‘clear mistake’ from umpires - Lord's decision blasted
ENGLAND won the Cricket World Cup after an incredible match against New Zealand, but it’s now been claimed that the umpires made a “clear mistake” in awarding Ben Stokes six runs in the final over.
Cricket World Cup: England celebrate after winning final
England won the World Cup yesterday after beating New Zealand in a one-off Super Over.
Ben Stokes was the hero for England as he helped Eoin Morgan’s side to chase down the 241 total set by the Black Caps.
In the final over, Stokes was awarded six runs after a freak incident, whereby the ball accidentally hit his bat while he was diving to get into his crease, and subsequently rolled toward the boundary line.
But, Simon Taufel, a former Australian umpire and member of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel, has now claimed that he should’ve been awarded five runs, as opposed to six.
[England] should have been awarded five runs, not six
The MCC rulebook states that if a boundary results from an overthrow, then boundary runs will be added to any runs completed by the batsman.
The on-field umpires made a clear mistake, he claimed, as the ball was thrown before Stokes reached his crease.
Therefore, the second run - whereby Stokes was running back to receive the next delivery - wasn’t technically completed, and shouldn’t have counted, said Taufel.
“They [England] should have been awarded five runs, not six,” Taufel told Fox Sports Australia. “It’s a clear mistake… It’s an error of judgement.
“In the heat of what was going on, they thought there was a good chance the batsmen had crossed at the instant of the throw.
“Obviously TV replays showed otherwise.
“The difficulty you [umpires] have here is you’ve got to watch batsmen completing runs, then change focus and watch for the ball being picked up, and watch for the release [of the throw].
“You also have to watch where the batsmen are at that exact moment.
“It’s unfair on England, New Zealand and the umpires involved to say it decided the outcome.”
England’s six runs from the incident helped Stokes to equal New Zealand’s total after 50 overs.
The Super Over subsequently followed, and then it was the Black Caps' turn to equal the England score of 15 runs after six deliveries.
But, England won the World Cup because they scored more boundaries than New Zealand over the course of the match.
MCC Rule 19.8: Overthrow or wilful act of fielder
If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be
— any runs for penalties awarded to either side
— and the allowance for the boundary
— and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act.