The 2019 World Cup final at the Lord’s turned out to be a nail-biter. Hosts England and New Zealand tried their hearts out, but the former pipped the Black Caps on ‘boundary count’ after the Super Over was tied. The game was also marred by a bit of controversy that took place in the last over of the Three Lions’ run-chase. With nine runs needed off six balls, the Brits were awarded six runs.

Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid ran a couple and strong throw from Martin Guptill from deep mid-wicket resulted in four overthrowers, much to New Zealand’s agony. The ball deflected off a diving Stokes’ bat and sped away to the boundary. Later Simon Taufel, the legendary umpire, pointed out an error, suggesting that the Eoin Morgan-captained team was wrongly awarded one extra run.

He put forth ICC’s Law 19.8, which states the batters are awarded an extra run only if the batsmen crossed when the fielder releases the ball. Stokes and Rashid didn’t cross each other when Guptill threw the ball. The error in judgement turned out to be a decisive factor in the context of the game.

Four-overthrows cost New Zealand severely

Stokes remained not out on 84 and also the got the Player of the Match award for his brilliance. The Kiwis needed two off the last ball in the one-over eliminator and Guptill’s run-out brought the curtains down on the game. England won the championship after qualifying for the final the first time since 1992.

Later the ICC also responded on the issue and mentioned that “It was against the policy to comment on any decisions (made by the umpires). 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.”

Meanwhile, a few of the fans are not happy with Stokes by any stretch of the imagination. They reckon that Stokes deliberately guided the ball for a four. They took to Wikipedia to vent out their frustration. On a date column beside the details of England’s victory at the Home of Cricket, a supporter wrote, “*won by cheating* ben stokes deliberately hit the trow ball towards boundry.”

Here is the screenshot:

World Cup 2019 final result. (Photo Source: Wikipedia)