Mistake to award England six runs in final: Simon Taufel
The ICC World Cup 2019 got over on Sunday with England being crowned champions on the basis of the number of boundaries hit after both the match and super over ended in a tie. During the chase, England were awarded six runs after a ball struck the bat of Ben Stokes. However, former umpire Simon Taufel called it a mistake. Here's why.
England needed nine runs off their final three balls to win the game in a chase of 242. Ben Stokes was batting and he intended to run two off the fourth ball of the over. A throw by Martin Guptill accidentally hit his bat and ended up being a four. England collected six runs, whereas, as per rules, they should have received five.
Former official Taufel claimed the on-field umpires made 'an error of judgment'. Now as per the rules, two runs are only counted if the batsmen cross for the second run before the fielder throws the ball. In this case, the two batsmen hadn't crossed for their second run at the instant Martin Guptill threw the ball. The second run should not have been counted.
According to Taufel, the ideal scenario would have been England getting five runs instead of six. And that would have accounted for Stokes not being on strike for the next ball. "They (England) should have been awarded five runs, not six. It is a clear mistake...it is an error of judgment," Taufel told Fox Sports.
Taufel went on to defend the on-field officials because that particular moment involved so many moving parts. He said it would be unfair on the umpires and both teams to say that awarding six runs decided the match. "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."
"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. You also have to watch where the batsmen are at that exact moment," added Taufel.
England's win became a big point of discussion among fans, pundits and former players on social media. Many questioned the rule set by ICC that a team with more boundaries will be winners if both the match and Super Over end in a tie. People argued, why not more wickets? The general idea was to let both teams share the trophy after the tie.
We agree with Taufel here in terms of not blaming the officials for the mistake. But in the larger context, both teams deserved to share the trophy after 22 players gave their all and forced a tie. Further, ICC's 'more boundaries' rule is absurd.
