Kumar Dharmasena Admits To ‘Judgemental Error’ In World Cup Final

Colombo: Kumar Dharmasena, who along with Marais Erasmus was the onfield umpire in the 2019 World Cup final, admitted on Sunday that he made a mistake by awarding an extra run to England after the ball ricocheted off Ben Stokes' bat and ran to the boundary.

"It's easy for people to comment after seeing TV replays," Dharmasena told Sri Lankan weekly the Sunday Times.

"I agree that there was a judgmental error when I see it on TV replays now. But we did not have the luxury of TV replays at the ground and I will never regret the decision I made. Besides, the ICC praised me for the decision I made at that time," he was quoted as saying.

With England chasing a target of 242 set by New Zealand in what has since been called the greatest World Cup final of all time and even the greatest ODI ever, Stokes went for a double off the third ball of the final over with his team needing nine runs to win. But Martin Guptill's throw from deep mid-wicket ricocheted off a diving Stokes' bat and ran away to the boundary.

Dharmasena had signalled six runs with Stokes having seemingly completed the second run. However, law 19.8 of the cricket rulebook pertaining to overthrows says, "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." IANS

Also Read: Kumar Dharmasena And Marais Erasmus On-Field Umpires For The World Cup