Former umpires say officials erred in giving 6 overthrows in WC final, ICC declines comment
London/Melbourne, Jul 15: Former international umpires Simon Taufel and K Hariharan Monday said officials standing in the World Cup final erred in awarding six runs, instead of five, to England for an overthrow, an observation that the ICC refused to comment on.
Luck smiled on England midway through the final over of their innings when a throw from New Zealand fielder Martin Guptill deflected off the bat of Stokes and ran to the boundary. England tied the match and the ensuing Super Over before winning on boundary count on Sunday.
Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena and South African Marius Erasmus were the on-field umpires for the pulsating game in which England were chasing 242 in the regulation 50 overs.
"It's a clear mistake.. it's an error of judgment. They (England) should have been awarded five runs, not six," Taufel, a five-time ICC Umpire of the Year, told foxsports.com.au.
Echoing Taufel's view was former Indian umpire K Hariharan.
"Kumar Dharmasena killed the World Cup for New Zealand. It should have been five runs not six," he told PTI.
The ICC refused to make a comment with a spokesperson simply saying, "The umpires take decisions in the field of play with their interpretations of the rules and we don't comment on any decisions as a matter of policy."
Law 19.8 of the ICC rules, pertaining 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."
"...the umpires needed to check if at the point of throw the two batsmen had crossed each other or not. If we see that replay, when the throw came, the two batsmen had barely started the second run," Hariharan observed.
"That run can never be counted. It was duty of square leg umpire (Marius) Erasmus to consult the TV umpire and change the decision. Stokes shouldn't have been on strike next ball," he added.
Taufel, a highly-regarded ex-Australian umpire, is now a part of the MCC's laws sub-committee that makes the rules governing cricket.
The bizarre incident took place in the fourth ball of the final over at the Lord's.
TV replays showed Adil Rashid and Stokes had not yet crossed for their second run when Guptill released the ball from the deep.
However, on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus added six runs to England total following the incident -- four runs for the ball reaching the boundary plus two for running between the wickets by the batsmen.
Taufel also defended the officials.
"In the heat of what was going on, they thought there was a good chance the batsmen had crossed at the instant of the throw," Taufel said.
"Obviously TV replays showed otherwise. The difficulty you (umpires) have here is you've got to watch batsmen completing runs, then change focus and watch for the ball being picked up, and watch for the release (of the throw)," Taufel said.
"You also have to watch where the batsmen are at that exact moment."
He acknowledged the call "influenced the game" but added, "It's unfair on England, New Zealand and the umpires involved to say it decided the outcome".
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TCS case: Kin of accused call him ‘high-performer’; blame office politics, jealousy for allegations
Nashik (PTI): Internal professional rivalry and office politics are the motive for the “false” sexual harassment and conversion allegations levelled against TCS employee Raza Rafiq Memon, his family said here on Sunday, describing him as a “high performer”.
Speaking to PTI, Memon’s uncle Ayaz Kazi said the case was part of a coordinated “conspiracy” spurred by Memon’s academic and professional performance.
Memon, currently in police custody till April 20, is among eight persons arrested after allegations of sexual harassment and pressure to convert emerged at a unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Nashik.
He led the team that included both the complainant and prime accused Danish Shaikh.
Memon’s family said the primary allegations are against Shaikh, and if he is guilty, then he must not be spared.
“However, the allegation against my nephew may be part of a coordinated conspiracy driven by academic and professional performance,” Kazi said.
Memon hails from a humble background and topped an internal exam at the firm last year, which could have triggered jealousy among the other colleagues, the uncle said.
“He became a topper, and that didn’t sit well with others in the company. This looks like a frame-up born out of office politics,” he said.
Kazi described his nephew as “helpful,” citing chats between the complainants and Memon that he said show he allowed them to leave early for their personal reasons.
Memon always obliged and would coordinate with the other team members, he said.
“As a team leader, his focus was strictly on sales targets and team productivity. There was no indication of any inappropriate interaction outside of these professional requests,” he added.
Memon’s family members also made claims of communal discrimination in the case against him. Kazi claimed that the people above Memon in the hierarchy were from different faiths, yet no action had been taken against them.
He said that Memon’s inclusion in the matter is a “planned conspiracy” to derail the careers of high-performing employees.
A family member of another accused called him innocent. He has been “framed” because he used to hang out with Danish, the relative said. “He is a practising person and could not have done such a thing,” the family member said.
A Special Investigation Team of Nashik police has arrested eight persons, including a female operations manager, by registering nine FIRs after allegations of exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit came to light.
The Nashik police have formed three teams to trace another accused, Nida Khan. These teams have been dispatched to various places, and one of them landed in Mumbra near Thane, officials said.
Meanwhile, Khan has filed an anticipatory bail application before the Nashik sessions court, which will hear the plea on Monday.
Her lawyer has denied the charges against his client, saying she cannot be accused of outraging the modesty of another woman. Her plea also cited her two-month-old pregnancy as a ground for bail.
TCS has clarified that it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time, and the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office have been suspended.
The company said on Friday that a preliminary review of the records indicated that it had not received any complaints “of the nature that are being alleged on either our ethics or POSH (prevention of sexual harassment) channels”.
The country’s largest IT services firm has also announced an oversight panel and engagement of external entities in its internal probe, it added.
