World Cup final\, England vs New Zealand: \'A ridiculous rule\' - Host of former Test...

World Cup final, England vs New Zealand: ‘A ridiculous rule’ - Host of former Test stars call for rule change after England edge past New Zealand

For a match which might go down as the best ODI in history, the end, which was determined by the number of boundaries hit, did not sit down too well with a number of former cricketers.

cricket Updated: Jul 15, 2019 11:43 IST
England's Jos Buttler, second left, celebrates with teammates(PTI)

There were two teams facing off on the day, two teams without a World Cup title and two teams who were willing to fight it out till the very end - and for the first time in cricket’s history, a World Cup final was decided via a super over. And the drama did not end there, the super over too was tied, no one was willing to budge, but then England broke away from the deflated Kiwis and were crowed World Champions because they had hit more boundaries in the match.

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For a match which might go down as the best ODI in history, the end, which was determined by the number of boundaries hit, did not sit down too well with a number of former cricketers who asked the ICC to contemplate and come with a better way to decide winners in such scenarios.

Watch:‘Tough to swallow’: Kane Williamson on ‘Super-Over’ decider in World Cup final

Former Indian captain Gautam Gambhir in a Tweet said: “Don’t understand how the game of such proportions, the #CWC19Final, is finally decided on who scored the most boundaries. A ridiculous rule @ICC. Should have been a tie. I want to congratulate both @BLACKCAPS & @englandcricket on playing out a nail biting Final. Both winners imo.”

Brett Lee too was not satisfied with the way the match was decided. “Congratulations to England! Commiserations New Zealand. I’ve got to say that it’s a horrible way to decide the winner. This rule has to change,” Lee wrote.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris was not as politically correct with his Tweet and even called the ICC a joke.

Yuvraj Singh, who has recently stepped away from the game, too questioned the ruled, but also congratulated the England cricket team.

“I don’t agree with that rule ! But rules are rules congratulations to England on finally winning the World Cup , my heart goes out for the kiwis they fought till the end 😥. Great game an epic final !!!!”

First Published: Jul 15, 2019 11:39 IST

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