Kumar Dharmasena backed by ICC over World Cup final overthrows call

The umpire controversially decided England should receive six runs when Martin Guptill's throw deflected off Ben Stokes' bat for a boundary

The ICC has publicly backed the decision by Kumar Dharmasena to award England six runs after overthrows in their World Cup final victory over New Zealand.

The umpire controversially decided England should receive six runs when Martin Guptill's throw deflected off a diving Ben Stokes' bat for a boundary.

The overthrows were just one of the many twists and turns on July 14 at Lord's, but in chasing New Zealand's total of 241-8, England were given renewed hope as they had needed 15 runs off four deliveries just two balls earlier.

However, according to Law 19.8, relating to "overthrow or wilful act of fielder", the batsman must have crossed prior to Guptill's throw being released for two initial runs to be added to the four overthrows.

Video replays showed that Stokes and his batting partner at the time, Adil Rashid, had not crossed at the moment the New Zealand fielder let go of the ball, and therefore should not have been awarded the extra run.

The game was eventually decided in England's favour by a Super Over after a tie in the customary 100 overs, but the ICC has come out and said the umpire followed the right protocol in awarding the runs.

^{The throw from the deep hit Stokes' bat before going off to the boundary}

"They [on-field umpires] had to make a judgement call on the day as to whether the batsmen had crossed when the throw was released," ICC's general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice told ESPNcricinfo.

"After everything that went on during that delivery, they got together over their comms system and made their decision. They certainly followed the right process when making the decision.

"They were aware of the law when they made the judgement about whether the batsmen had crossed or not at the time. The playing conditions don't allow them to refer to such a decision to a third umpire. The match referee cannot intervene when the umpires on the field have to make a judgement call like that."

The news comes after Dharmasena himself gave an interview to Sri Lankan newspaper Sunday Times in which he admitted he may have made a "judgemental error".

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