Former Umpire Simon Taufel Claims England Were "Mistakenly" Awarded Extra Run In World Cup Final
Simon Taufel claimed that umpires had made a "clear mistake", as the England batsmen had not crossed for their second run in the final over, and should have been awarded five runs and not six.
Highlights
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Simon Taufel claimed that umpires had made a "clear mistake"
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England won the World Cup 2019 title in dramatic fashion
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The Australian defended the match umpires
England won the World Cup 2019 title in dramatic fashion due to their superior boundary count in comparison to New Zealand in the final at Lord's on Sunday. Apart from the tie-break rule, which caused quite a stir on social media, the overthrow in the final over of the England innings became the talking point of the match. Former umpire Simon Taufel of Australia, on Monday claimed that England were mistakenly awarded an extra run during their nail-biting World Cup win over New Zealand. A freak deflection off Ben Stokes' bat sent the ball racing to the boundary and saw his team being awarded six runs with three balls to go in the final over on Sunday.
The scores were tied at the end of regular play and the resulting Super Over shootout, with England then handed their first-ever World Cup victory for their superior boundary count.
But Taufel told Fox Sports Australia that umpires had made a "clear mistake", as the batsmen had not crossed for their second run.
"They should have been awarded five runs, not six," he said, adding that England's Adil Rashid should have faced the second-last ball instead of Stokes as a result.
Taufel, a five-time winner of the International Cricket Council's Umpire of the Year award, now sits on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) laws sub-committee, the worldwide custodian of cricket's sometimes obscure rules of play.
The Australian defended the match umpires, who he said had to make a complicated judgement, and said it would be "unfair" to say the decision altered the outcome of the tournament.
"Unfortunately that sort of thing happens from time to time. It's a part of the game that we play," Taufel said.
England, who have often cited a humiliating defeat by New Zealand at the 2015 World Cup as the catalyst for their climb to the top of the One-day International rankings, finally have a World Cup win to go with their three losing appearances in the 1979, 1987 and 1992 finals.
By contrast, defeat is devastating for New Zealand, who were also looking to win the trophy for the first time after being well beaten by Australia in the 2015 showpiece.
(With AFP inputs)
England Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team