Cricket World Cup Final: Ben Stokes Asked Umpires To Remove Overthrow Runs From England's Total, Reveals Jimmy Anderson

Ben Stokes experienced the unthinkable, when a throw from New Zealand fielder Martin Guptill deflected off his bat while he was diving in an attempt to reach the crease to complete the second run. The ball ricocheted and went towards the boundary ropes, giving the hosts six runs, as they drew New Zealand's target in the Cricket World Cup final at Lord's. The match went to Super Over, where again it was a tie, with England winning due to a superior boundary count. Stokes' Test teammate Jimmy Anderson revealed that the allrounder had asked the umpires to take away the four runs received from the overthrow.

If Stokes would have had his way, then New Zealand would have claimed the title!

In the final over of the chase, a throw from deep ricocheted off Stokes' bat to the boundary. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena awarded six runs; two run by batsmen (Stokes and Mark Wood) and four for the overthrow which went to the boundary. The decision somewhat tilted the game in England's favor, leading to a Super Over.

The MCC rulebook's Law 19.8 which pertains to "Overthrow or wilful act of fielder", states, "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."

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At the BBC's Tailenders podcast, Anderson said, "The etiquette in cricket is if the ball is thrown at the stumps and it hits you and goes into a gap in the field you don't run. But if it goes to the boundary, in the rules it's four and you can't do anything about it".

He added, "I think, talking to Michael Vaughan who saw him (Stokes) after the game, Ben Stokes actually went to the umpires and said, 'Can you take that four runs off. We don't want it'. But it's in the rules and that's the way it is".

"It's been talked about for a while among the players, potentially that being a dead ball if it does hit the batsman and veer off somewhere," quipped Anderson.

(PTI Inputs)