England shouldn't have got that extra run, says ex-umpire Simon Taufel

Dharmasena signals 6 runs during Sunday's final. Pic/Bipin Patel

London: When the margin of error is slim, every aspect comes under the microscopic. Every run that was scored in Sunday's England v New Zealand final was worth its weight in gold. So, did the umpires err by awarding an extra run to England, something that has become a major talking point after the World Cup final was not decided by the margin of runs or wickets, but by the number of boundaries?

Needing 15 off the final over for England to chase New Zealand's 241-8, the equation was brought down to three runs off two balls after a throw from Martin Guptill deflected off Ben Stokes's bat and raced to the boundary when he was trying to steal a second run. England were awarded six runs, but former ICC elite umpire Simon Taufel felt the umpires erred and should have given five runs because when Guptill released his throw, Stokes and his partner Adil Rashid had not crossed each other. As a result, it cannot be counted as run and New Zealand would have managed to win the World Cup by one run.

The ICC rule 19.8 for overthrow or willful act of fielder states: "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the willful 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."

Taufel, speaking to Fox Sports website, said: "It's a clear mistake it's an error of judgment. 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 ICC refused to get into the run out issue. "The umpires take decisions on the field with their interpretation of the rules and we don't comment on any decisions as a matter of policy," a spokesperson said in an email response to mid-day.

The ICC in its three-day meeting here which will also involve a review meeting of the just-concluded World Cup, is likely to discuss the run out law and speak about a possibility to fine tune it.

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