Umpire Kumar Dharmasena has admitted that an “error” was made as England was awarded six runs from an overthrow in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand on last Sunday (14th July).
A rocket throw by Martin Guptill at the stumps deflected off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes as he tried to complete a second run and raced to the boundary for four, with Sri Lankan umpire Dharmasena awarding England six runs.
Dharmasena did talk to South Africa’s Marais Erasmus before awarding six runs.
The incident proved to be a turning point of the match as both teams finished at 241 runs after their stipulated 50 overs pushing the match into the Super Over. However, both sides scored 15 in the Super Over and finally, England was declared as champions on the basis of ‘boundary count’.
“It’s easy for people to comment after seeing TV replays,” Dharmasena told the Sunday Times. “I agree that there was a judgmental error when I see it on TV replays now. But we did not have the luxury of TV replays at the ground, and I will never regret the decision I made.
“I did consult the leg umpire [Erasmus] through the communication system which is heard by all other umpires and the match referee,” he told the newspaper.
“While they cannot check TV replays, they all confirmed that the batsmen have completed the second run. This is when I made my decision.
“Besides, the ICC praised me for the decision I made at that time.”
A report from the Times earlier in the week said that cricket’s lawmakers, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), plan to review the overthrows law when they next meet with the laws sub-committee, but no timeframe was given.
