MCC to review World Cup final overthrow incident in September
London: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of cricket laws, has announced it will review the overthrow incident which took place in the World Cup 2019 final between England and New Zealand.
"The WCC discussed Law 19.8 in relation to overthrows, in the context of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final. The WCC felt that the Law was clear but the matter will be reviewed by the Laws sub-committee in September 2019," said MCC in an official statement.
During the final over in England's chase of 241 on July 14 at Lord's, all-rounder Ben Stokes accidentally knocked the ball coming in from deep midwicket fielder Martin Guptill and deflected it off to the third man boundary, while attempting to dive for his crease with an outstretched bat in a bid to complete his second run.
After consultation with Marais Erasmus and the rest of his umpiring colleagues, Kumar Dharmasena signalled six runs for the incident, meaning that England who by then seemed to be drifting out of contention needing nine runs from three balls were suddenly right back in the hunt for their World Cup glory needing three more from two.
England were eventually adjudged winners of the World Cup on the basis of their superior boundary count after the the match ended in a tie after regulation play and Super Over.
Former international umpire Simon Taufel had said that the umpires made a mistake while awarding six runs to England, instead of five.
Dharmasena, who was targeted for his controversial overthrow call, had accepted his mistake, but said he didn't regret the decision. ICC had also backed the Sri Lankan umpire over the issue.
The MCC World Cricket Committee, chaired by former England batsman Mike Gatting, met at Lord's on August 11 and 12.
The MCC law 19.8 pertaining to overthrows 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."
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Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya case: Hope emerges as Iran may contact victim’s family in bid for pardon
New Delhi: There appears to be a glimmer of hope for Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala on death row in Yemen, as report suggest Iranian officials may reach out to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, her former business partner, to seek a pardon through blood money. Priya was sentenced to death for Mahdi's murder.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
A report by The New Indian Express published on Friday stated that discussions are underway to gain the victim's family’s support in seeking a pardon. “It’s a relief of sorts. Iran officials could use their good offices with Houthis for the reach-out with family of the victim. Some cash has been arranged for blood money and talks are on to get the family on board to seek pardon, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” a source told the publication.
It is learnt that using an appropriate intermediary equivalent of Rs 30 lakh has been kept ready, the report added.
Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, the nurse was found guilty of murdering the Yemeni citizen in July 2017. She was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he said last week.
