England wrongly awarded extra run in World Cup final: Ex-umpire Simon Taufel

The finale of the World Cup turned out to be one heck of an affair, after England beat New Zealand in a Super Over after a nerve-shredding final ended in a tie at the historic Lords.

However, the dramatic finale was not without its lucky moments especially for the World Cup hosts, after it was learnt that an error was made in awarding England six runs, which should have been five when a throw struck Ben Stokes’ bat.

The incident occurred during the third last ball of England’s inning, with England needing nine runs from the final three balls, a throw from Black Caps Martin Guptill accidentally hit the bat of a diving Ben Stokes, sending the ball to the boundary.

The incident changed the entire game’s scenario allowing England to push for the Super Over. However, former umpire Simon Taufel, considered among the finest umpires of his generation was of the view that it should not have happened this way.

“It’s a clear mistake … it’s an error of judgment. They [England] should have been awarded five runs, not six. 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,” said Simon Taufel while speaking to foxsports.com.au.

According to law 19.8 pertaining to Overthrow or wilful act of fielder which states: “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.”