“Error In Judgment” By The Umpires In The Final Game Of Cricket World Cup 2019
One of the most honest and reliable umpires of cricket history Simon Taufel who is also a member of the committee that presides over the complex cricket rulebook has said that awarding six runs to England for an overthrow in the final over of the match was a “clear mistake”
At the time when England was in need of 9 runs in 3 balls a throw from Martin Guptill unintentionally hit Ben Stokes bat, when he was in the process of completing his second run and ran away for a boundary. The umpires, at that time awarded the England team six runs instead of 5. Simon Taufel who being a member of the MCC laws Sub-committee said it was a “clear mistake”.
One of the best umpires of his times and a present member of the committee that presides over the scandalously complex cricket rulebook has said that though it was not deliberate at all but it was a clear mistake made on the way to England winning its first ever world cup. It is due to this mistake that the best player of the English squad stayed on strike to hit boundaries and added an extra run to their score.
According to the former Australian Umpire Simon Taufel it was not a deliberate mistake but it was an error in judgement in application of the MMC laws on part of the umpires. Simon Taufel, a five-time winner of the ICC’s Umpire of the year award and famous as one of the greatest umpires of this century said “they should have been given 5 runs and not six.
Simon Taufel said for the umpires that “the difficulty you 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 of the ball, you also have to watch where the batsmen are at that exact moment.
According to the stance of Simon Taufel this particular instance did influence the game but it is not the reason for New Zealand losing the game.
The relevant clause from the MCC rulebook is this:
“Rule 19.8: Overthrow or willful act of fielder
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 did not blame the umpires in view of the immense pressure of the game. He said that there was so much happening on the field at that time that the on-field umpires have a lot of pressure to handle. After a lot of debate and discussion between the cricket experts we come to a conclusion that the England team was given one extra run and this should not have happened.
What do you think about the unintentional mistakes by world cup final match umpires and their impact on the final game? Do you really think that the England team should not be awarded 6 runs instead of 5?
The captain of the New Zealand team did quote what Simon Taufel said, and said that he just hoped that no such thing happens in the future at such a moment.
