ICC pass verdict on overthrow controversy involving Ben Stokes in 2019 World Cup final

ICC pass verdict on overthrow controversy: ICC have issues a statement with respect to the controversial decision in the last over.

Last Sunday witnessed the first-ever instance of England lifting the Cricket World Cup trophy. In a cliffhanger of a match, England beat New Zealand on the back of scoring more boundaries in the match.

While the nerve-wrenching match became the first World Cup final to get tied, its super over also getting tied called for a match for the ages. Despite scoring the same amount of runs and losing more wickets, England winning the match invited mixed reactions from the cricketing fraternity.

While the English team had not even stopped the celebration, legendary umpire Simon Taufel claimed in an interview that the on-field umpires “committed an error” when they awarded six runs as overthrows (in place of five) to England in the final over of the match.

“They [England] should have been awarded five runs, not six. 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,” Taufel was quoted as saying to Fox Sports.

ICC pass verdict on overthrow controversy

While ICC (International Cricket Council) hadn’t commented on the issue till now, they have finally issued an official statement on the same. While expecting them to take an action was too much to ask for, they have spoken on similar lines.

Determining the winner on boundaries was baffling enough, the umpires not knowing rules & officiating in a finals is a joke. That deflected overthrow was a 5 as Stokes hadn’t crossed d crease. For far too long they have got away with,’Umpires are only human’. This is unpardonable

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 15, 2019

“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,” an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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