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THE International Cricket Council has responded to the overthrow controversy during the final match of the 2019 World Cup between England and New Zealand at Lord’s last Sunday.

Six runs were added to England’s total on the third-last ball of its innings, before the super over, when a throw from the outfield hit Ben Stokes’ bat and deflected to the boundary for four overthrows as he completed a second run.

However, Stokes had not crossed with his batting partner Adil Rashid when Martin Guptill threw the ball.

Law 19.8 states the second run in progress should not have counted because the boundary resulted from a throw that had already been fired into the keeper before Stokes and Rashid crossed.

That means England should have been awarded five runs, not six.

Now, the ICC has finally responded, stating that it was against its policy to react on decisions taken by umpires.

“The umpires take decisions on the field with their interpretation of the rules and we don’t comment on any decisions as a matter of policy,” an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au.

Former five-time ICC umpire of the year and member of the MCC laws sub-committee, Simon Taufel, has also admitted that the on-field officials got it wrong.

“It’s a clear mistake … it’s an error of judgment,” Taufel said. – Cricket Times