Reports: MCC looking to change overthrow rules post controversy in 2019 World Cup final

MCC looking to change overthrow rules: There are reports that MCC might change rules pertaining to the overthrow law in cricket.

During the nerve-wrenching final of the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between England beat New Zealand at Lord’s, overthrows awarded to England in the last overs became a source of contention for New Zealand.

It was an extra run which aided England to tie the match. With the super over also ending in a tie, the match was awarded to England on the back of scoring more boundaries in the match.

The surprising manner in which the outcome of the match was decided invited severe criticism from the cricketing fraternity. What didn’t go down well primarily was the unawareness regarding the rule which took the people by surprise in a situation as crunch as the World Cup final.

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

MCC looking to change overthrow rules

If reports are to be believed, MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) are planning to make an amendment in the existing law which might not see another such incident happen during a cricket match.

“There is a feeling at MCC that overthrows are worth looking at when it next reviews the laws of the game, which is the responsibility of the MCC Laws sub-committee,” read a report in The Sunday Times.

While the English team had not even stopped celebrating their maiden World Cup victory, 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.

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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