WC'19 Final: Umpires made clear mistake awarding England six runs, says Simon Taufel

Taufel said that umpires made 'an error of judgment' in applying an obscure clause in the MCC's laws- which not only awarded England an extra run but also kept Stokes on strike.

London: Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel, who is now a member of MCC laws sub-committee, has pointed his finger towards a grave umpiring error during England's maiden World Cup win against New Zealand here at the Lord's. Taufel said that awarding England six runs-instead of five-when a throw struck Ben Stokes' bat was a 'clear mistake'.

With England were required nine runs from the final three balls, a throw from Martin Guptill was deflected from the outstretched bat of a diving Ben Stokes and it crossed the boundary for four.

England were awarded six runs from overthrow- four from the boundary and two from singles.

But, Taufel said that umpires made 'an error of judgment' in applying an obscure clause in the MCC's laws- which not only awarded England an extra run but also kept Stokes on strike.

Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel.

The Australian, who is a five-time winner of the ICC's Umpire of the Year award and widely viewed as one of the greatest umpires of this century, said, “They (England) should have been awarded five runs, not six.”

“It’s a clear mistake … it’s an error of judgment,” Taufel was quoted as saying by an Australian media.

The relevant clause from the MCC rulebook is this:

If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful 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.

However, Taufel defended Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus as that moment involved so many moving parts, and said it was unfair on the umpires and both teams to say this was the moment that decided the match.

Given the fact that batsman had not crossed for their second run at the instant Guptill threw the ball, that run should not have counted.

Simon Taufel won Umpire of the Year award five times.

“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 added.

“Obviously TV replays showed otherwise.” This meant that instead of needing three runs from the last two balls, England would have needed four.

At the same time, considering the fact that batsmen didn't cross at the time of the throw, Taufel said that the batsmen should have swapped sides for the next delivery.

That would have meant that tailender Adil Rashid, and not man-of-the-match Ben Stokes, should have faced the second last ball.