'Should Consider Sharing Trophy in Case of Tie' - New Zealand Coach Stead

A disappointed Gary Stead has urged that the rules to decide a tie be reconsidered and believes that sharing a World Cup in case of a tie in the final should be looked at.

England matched the Kiwis' 241 in a breathtaking conclusion at Lord's and the sides could not then be separated after a Super Over - the tournament hosts only prevailing by virtue of registering more boundaries across the contest.

While Stead was as magnanimous in defeat as captain Kane Williamson had been on Sunday, he questioned whether a tournament that spanned 46 days should be decided by such narrow parameters.

Stead said: "I'm sure when they were writing the rules they never expected a World Cup final like that.

"I'm sure it'll be reviewed. Perhaps when you play over a seven-week period and you can't be separated on the final day then that is something that should be considered.

"But that's one consideration over a whole lot of things that went on over the World Cup. It's a very, very hollow feeling that you can play 100 overs and score the same amount of runs and still lose the game, but that's the technicalities of sport.

"It's unfortunate it comes down to one ball right at the end of the tournament when we've been here for seven weeks playing some really good cricket. It will be raw for a long time," the New Zealand coach said.

For the Kiwis, who ended up on the wrong side of a World Cup final result for a second time running, the game turned when a throw from Martin Guptill accidentally hit Ben Stokes’ bat and raced away for four, and England were awarded six runs.

Former ICC Umpire of the year Simon Taufel, however on Monday, called the awarding of the six runs a mistake and said England should have been awarded five runs for the play.

The MCC's rulebook backs up the ex-official's view, but Stead said, "I didn't actually know that. The umpires are there to rule and they're human as well and, like players, sometimes errors are made.

"It's just the human aspect of sport and probably why we all care about it so much as well. We can't change that now. It will go down in history as one that got away from us."

Asked about the mood in the dressing room in the aftermath of the defeat at Lord’s, Stead said, "There was a lot of dejection and almost bewilderment around 'how did that happen' and 'why has it happened this way?'

"Everyone will react to it over time, but I imagine most of our guys will hit the wall for about a week or so and feel pretty down about things. But they shouldn't, we should be really proud of what they have achieved," he added.