'We've got the trophy': England respond to big World Cup 'mistake'

England's director of cricket Ashley Giles has played down claims England benefited from a "clear mistake" as they clinched World Cup glory, insisting Ben Stokes would probably have won the game anyway.

Giles laughed off the suggestion from former international umpire Simon Taufel that the winners should only have been awarded five runs, not six, after the ball ricocheted off Stokes' bat and crossed the boundary as he dived to make his ground during a dramatic run chase.

"Well, you can look at so many moments during the day. If that had been the case, Stokesy got a full toss last ball, he'd probably have smashed it out of the park rather than try to nurdle two," Giles told Sky Sports.

"If you look over there, we've got the trophy and I think you'll find it very difficult to get it out of their hands."

The hosts triumphed in the competition for the first time after beating New Zealand following a super over at Lord's on Sunday.

England matched the Kiwis' score of 241 from the final delivery, and were handed the trophy over New Zealand on a boundary countback.

England scored six from the third-last ball when a throw from Martin Guptill rebounded off the diving Stokes' bat to the boundary.

It since emerged that under Law 19.8, extra runs are only awarded if the batsmen have crossed when the ball is thrown, which was not the case on Sunday.

It means England should only have received five runs off the delivery, leaving them with four to win off two balls.

A former five-time ICC umpire of the year and member of the MCC laws sub-committee, Taufel said the on-field officials got it wrong.

"It's a clear mistake ... it's an error of judgment," he told Fox Sports.

The ICC said they would not be drawn into the issue.

"The umpires take decisions on the field with their interpretation of the rules and we don't comment on any decisions as a matter of policy," a spokesperson said.

How Simon Taufel saw it

Taufel, who had no official role with the governing body at the tournament, opined that Dharmasena and Erasmus had erred by making a “clear mistake” with a “judgment error”.

“There was a judgment error on the overthrow. The judgment error was the timing of when the fielder threw the ball,” he told The Age.

“The act of the overthrow starts when the fielder releases the ball. That's the act (mentioned in the rule). It becomes an overthrow from the instant of the throw."

The umpires convened for a long period of time before play resumed after six runs had been added to England’s total.

Taufel, who said the mistake should not be seen to have decided the World Cup, acknowledged the difficulties of officiating after such a rare event.

“What's unfortunate is that people think that umpiring is just about outs and not outs. They forget we make 1000s of decisions every match,” he said.

"So it's unfortunate that there was a judgment error on the timing of the release of the ball and where the batsmen were. They did not cross on their second run, at the instant of the throw.

“So given that scenario, five runs should have been the correct allocation of runs, and Ben Stokes should have been at the non-striker's end for the next delivery.

“We're not perfect. You've got the best two umpires in the elite panel doing the final. They're doing their best like the other two teams are. This is just part of the game.”

With agencies