There was very little to separate the two teams, both being championship material. It was a match that was as nailbiting as it can get, so nerve-wracking that what decided the game was a rule that most players, managers, cricket boards would have glossed over and that fans would not even be aware of its existence.
It is rare in cricket – whether Test or one day internationals – for a game to end in a tie. This final was one such rare occasion as both teams ended their innings with a score of 241. The match went into a tie-breaker where both teams played a superover and astoundingly, this too ended in a tie, as both teams scored 15 runs apiece in their alloted six balls. The match and the championship had to be decided on the tiebreaker rule that gave the match to the team that scored the most boundaries. Here England came through as it had sent more balls over the ropes than New Zealand.
The trophy has been lifted by England, and the losing team can’t complain as they were aware of the rules before the start of the world cup. But then when the rules were prepared, nobody would have imagined that the world cup final would some day be decided on this particular rule. The debate on whether this rule is a fair one or not has been rocking the Internet in the cricket world, since England won the trophy. It will perhaps continue for a few days, but there is a large section of cricket fans and players who believe that this rule should be the one that decides the winner.
New Zealand played a great game, and as they stood on the green at Lords and watched as England lifted the trophy, hearts went out to them as they played a game as good as the one England did, and they did not lose the match. This was England’s fourth world cup final, they were defeated in the previous three, and this one was tied. Ironically, the cup has gone home, but the English team that was pining for a world cup victory did not in practical terms win the match, which makes it all the more depressing for New Zealand, who also played a great tournament.
The International Cricket Council will have to consider that in the event a final of a world cup ends in a tie, than the two teams may share the trophy, rather than the current rule of more boundaries deciding the winner. This is the world cup that was being played for, and both teams showed that there was little to choose between them, sharing the cup would be the best solution in this instance. Now that a world cup final has ended in a tie, there always exists the possibility of other times when a game may end in this manner.
The rule has been condemned in almost every country where cricket is played. The number of boundaries that a team scores is no solution to decide a tie in a cricket match, and that too at the highest level. Cricket is about scoring runs by batsmen and picking up wickets by the bowlers. It should not matter whether the runs come in singles or in fours or in sixes. The International Cricket Council has to review this rule before the next major cricket tournament takes place.
