ISLAMABAD – The umpire who awarded England six runs from a freak overthrowin the last over of the World Cup final has admitted he made an “error” andshould have given one run fewer, a report said Sunday.
A throw to the stumps deflected off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes as hetried to complete a second run and raced to the boundary, with Sri Lankanumpire Kumar Dharmasena awarding six.
Three balls later the scores at 50 overs were tied as England reached 241all out replying to New Zealand’s 241-8.
It took the nail-biting final to a Super Over which again was tied butEngland lifted the trophy by virtue of having scored more boundaries
Critics, including former leading umpire Simon Taufel, said England shouldhave been awarded five runs, not six, as the batsmen had not crossed forthe second run at the moment the ball was thrown.
Former Sri Lankan Test player Dharmasena told the Sunday Times he did nothave the benefit of television replays which showed the batsmen had notcrossed.
“I agree that there was an error of judgement when I see it on TV replaysnow,” Dharmasena, who was umpiring the final with South Africa’s MaraisErasmus, told the local Sunday Times.
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“But we did not have the luxury of TV replays at the ground and I do notregret the decision I made.”
Dharmasena said he signalled six after consulting the other matchofficials. “So, I did consult the leg umpire (Erasmus) through thecommunication system which is heard by all other umpires and the matchreferee,” he told the newspaper.
“While they cannot check TV replays, they all confirmed that the batsmenhave completed the second run. This is when I made my decision.”
Taufel had told Fox Sports Australia the umpires made a “clear mistake” asthe batsmen had not crossed for their second run.
But the Australian also defended the match umpires, who he said had to makea complicated judgement, and said it would be “unfair” to say the decisionaltered the outcome of the tournament as it was impossible to now whatwould have happened in the final balls had five been awarded. -APP/AFP
