Legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar was the first to recommend the change in the Super-Over rule and cricket legend on Wednesday welcomed the ICC’s decision to stop boundary count rule as a way of deciding knockout games in the multi-national tournaments like the World Cup.
On Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) scrapped the boundary count rule following the uproar over the outcome of the men’s World Cup final in July when England lifted the trophy by defeating New Zealand on over the boundary count. After the board meetings in Dubai, the ICC decided that in semi-finals and finals of future global tournaments, if the scores get tied, the Super Overs will be repeated until one side wins.
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Welcoming the decision of ICC, Sachin tweeted: “I felt this was important as it is a fair way to obtain a result when nothing else separates the 2 teams”.
I felt this was important as it is a fair way to obtain a result when nothing else separates the 2 teams. https://t.co/LdVMYawMR5
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 16, 2019
England lifted the coveted trophy July 14 final owing to more number of boundaries — 22 fours and two sixes to New Zealand’s 16 — after the regulation match and the ensuing Super Over ended in a tie.
Two days later, Tendulkar endorsed a second Super Over to decide the winner instead of utilizing the boundary count rule. Many former players and fans criticized the rule after the nail-biting final, prompting ICC to rethink.
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The ICC on Monday said in a statement: “In group stages if the Super Over is tied, the match will be tied. In semifinals and finals, there is one change to the Super0-Over regulation in keeping with the basic principle of scoring more runs than the opponent to win, the Super Over will be repeated until one team has more runs than the other.”
However, the change did not find favor with New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and the team’s former batting coach Craig McMillan, both of whom mocked it as a late-in-the-day decision.
