Report | Marylebone Cricket Council may place overthrow rules under scrutiny
According to a Sunday Times report, the overseer of cricket laws Marylebone Cricket Council will discuss the existing overthrow rules in its next meeting. The report has surfaced after a controversial decision was taken in the World Cup final and has been much discussed since in cricketing circles.
Almost a week ago, the world witnessed one of the most historical but at the same time, a highly controversial ODI as England lifted the World Cup trophy in their own backyard. While some have disagreed with the super over rule, others have expressed disappointment over the rule that takes into account boundary count to decide the winner. However, perhaps the most discussed incident has been the one took place on the third last ball of regulation overs.
With England needing nine runs to win off three balls, Ben Stokes hit the ball towards the boundary and was rushing back to complete the second run when the throw from the fielder hit his bat and the ball raced to the boundary.
On-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena awarded six runs for the same. However, retired umpire Simon Taufel, a five-time winner of the ICC Umpire of the Year award, stated after the match that an extra run was given to England considering that the batsmen had not crossed the crease when Martin Guptill threw the ball from deep.
Considering that the decision might have potentially changed the outcome of the match and consequently cost New Zealand a World Cup title, MCC will be placing the rule under the microscope.
“There is a feeling at MCC that overthrows are worth looking at when it next reviews the laws of the game, which is the responsibility of the MCC Laws sub-committee,” the report in ‘Sunday Times’ read according to TOI.
