ICC Refuse To Comment On Extra Run Blunder

The ICC have refused to comment on claims that an umpiring mistake gave England an extra run in their World Cup win over New Zealand. The host nation completed a dramatic win over the Black Caps in a super over in the final at Lord’s on Sunday to lift the World Cup for the first time.

But arguments over whether the match should have gone that far have emerged after retired Australian umpire Simon Taufel questioned a call made on the field to award England six runs for the final-over incident, when Martin Guptill’s return throw was inadvertently deflected for a boundary off Ben Stokes’ bat.

The umpires signalled six runs to the scorers but as Stokes and Adil Rashid had not crossed at the point Guptill released his throw, the laws indicate it should only have been worth five. Taufel, who was named the International Cricket Council’s Umpire of the Year on five successive occasions, called the award of the extra run a “clear mistake”.

The ICC said umpires took decisions on the field based on their interpretation of the rules and that it did not comment on them. England’s director of cricket Ashley Giles remains unconcerned by the claims. He said: “You could argue the last ball that [Trent] Boult bowled was a full toss on leg stump and if Stokes hadn’t just been looking for two he probably would’ve banged it out of the ground anyway. “We are world champions; we have got the trophy and we intend to keep it.”