The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup finale is the most controversial finale the world of cricket has ever witnessed
Sports and controversy go hand-in-hand, but when a finale becomes controversial, it is never appreciated. Not to forget, the credibility of the winner is questioned every now and then. Even after five lengthy years, many question England's victory at the finale of the 2019 World Cup. After all, a poor call by umpires ensured England's victory, which was later admitted by the umpires, leaving a bitter thought in the minds of hardcore cricket enthusiasts and the New Zealand cricket fraternity.
Batting first, New Zealand scored 241 runs after losing eight wickets in 50 overs. Team play was the mantra as crucial runs were added by seven of the batsmen – Guptill (19), Nicholls (55), Williamson (30), Latham (47), Neesham (19), Grandhomme (16), and Taylor (15). Not to mention, as many as 30 extra runs were given away by the English bowlers, which helped New Zealand to reach a decent target.
For England, Ben Stokes scored 84 off 98 balls, Buttler added 59 runs off 60 balls, and Bairstow scored 36. The rest of the batsmen did not contribute much, but Stokes was still on the crease with 15 needed in the last over, and that is the course of cricket history changed in the most bizarre manner.
The ball hitting Stokes when he dived to reach the crease for a second run
Six runs were scored in the first three balls, and nine were needed in the remaining three balls. In the fourth ball, Stokes hit it for a boundary, but Guptill collected it and made a throw. When Stokes was on his way to the second run, the ball thrown by Guptill hit Stokes' bat and went for a boundary—England was awarded six runs.
This is where the umpire made a mistake. On-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus discussed the incident the following day in their hotel and realised their mistake.
While speaking to The Telegraph, Erasmus said, "The next morning I opened my hotel room door on my way to breakfast, and Kumar opened his door at the same time, and he said, 'did you see we made a massive error?' That's when I got to know about it. But in the moment on the field, we just said six, you know, communicated to each other, 'six, six, it's six' not realising that they haven't crossed, it wasn't picked up. That's it."
Dharmasena and Erasmus during the finale // Picture Courtesy -- Theweek
As per Law 19.8 of the MCC rulebook – "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."
In layman terms, the umpires should have given away five runs instead of six because Stokes and Rashid hadn't crossed the line when Guptill threw the ball. Had only five runs been given away, there would not have been a Super Over because England would've fallen short by one run. In short, New Zealand would've been the winner of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The match proceeded into the Super Over, and England won on the basis of the boundary count-back rule—the Lord's Cricket Ground and the world witnessed the most bizarre World Cup finale ever.