Sri Lankan Cricket World Cup Umpire Admits To Final Error
21st July 2019
A throw to the stumps deflected off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes as he tried to complete a second run and raced to the boundary, with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena awarding six
- The umpire who awarded England six runs from a freak overthrow in the last over of the World Cup final has admitted he made an "error" and should have given one run fewer, a report said Sunday
- Three balls later the scores at 50 overs were tied as England reached 241 all out replying to New Zealand's 241-8
- It took the nail-biting final to a Super Over which again was tied but England lifted the trophy by virtue of having scored more boundaries
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka- The umpire who awarded England six runs from a freak overthrow in the
last over of the World Cup final has admitted he made an "error" and
should have given one run fewer, a report said Sunday.
A throw to the
stumps deflected off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes as he tried to complete a
second run and raced to the boundary, with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena
awarding six.
Three balls later
the scores at 50 overs were tied as England reached 241 all out replying to New
Zealand's 241-8.
It took the
nail-biting final to a Super Over which again was tied but England lifted the
trophy by virtue of having scored more boundaries
Critics, including
former leading umpire Simon Taufel, said England should have been awarded five
runs, not six, as the batsmen had not crossed for the second run at the moment
the ball was thrown.
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Former Sri Lankan
Test player Dharmasena told the Sunday Times he did not have the benefit of
television replays which showed the batsmen had not crossed.
"I agree that
there was an error of judgement when I see it on TV replays now,"
Dharmasena, who was umpiring the final with South Africa's Marais Erasmus, told
the local Sunday Times.
"But we did not
have the luxury of TV replays at the ground and I do not regret the decision I
made."
Dharmasena said he
signalled six after consulting the other match officials. "So, 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."
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Taufel had told Fox
Sports Australia the umpires made a "clear mistake" as the batsmen
had not crossed for their second run.
But the Australian
also defended the match umpires, who he said had to make a complicated
judgement, and said it would be "unfair" to say the decision altered
the outcome of the tournament as it was impossible to now what would have
happened in the final balls had five been awarded.