Did ‘Cricketing Sense' Prevail In World Cup Final?

England was awarded an extra run in the last over, which proved crucial in the final analysis.

- Kartikeya Date

In Sunday’s Cricket WorldCup final, England’s Ben Stokes hit the fourth ball of Trent Boult’s final over to deep midwicket. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill fielded the ball and threw it to the striker’s end, where Stokes was returning for a second run. As Stokes dived to make his ground, the throw hit his outstretched bat and the ball was deflected away to the boundary. The umpires awarded England six runs — two for the shot and four overthrows — and Stokes was back on strike for the next ball.

Under the laws of cricket, the English side should have been awarded five runs, not six, and Stokes should have been at the non-striker’s end when the next ball was bowled. Veteran umpire Simon Taufel termed the decision to award England six runs, a move on which there has been much debate over the last two days, a “clear mistake”. After all, it occurred in the last over of the World Cup final, which ended in a tie.