Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) tweaked Monday the super over rule for all its major events following the uproar over the outcome of the men’s World Cup final in July when England were declared winners against New Zealand on boundary count.
New Zealand and England had headed into the super over after scores in the World Cup final were tied at 241. Once the super over also ended in a tie with both teams making 15, the winner was decided on account of superior boundary count.
Following that nerve-wracking final, the ICC faced the wrath of fans and former players over the controversial rule.
Now ICC has finally made changes to the rule and in case a situation arises where both teams are tied even after the super over in a final or semifinal, the super over will be repeated until there is a clear winner.
“Following on from a recommendation from the ICC Cricket Committee, the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) agreed that use of the ‘Super Over’ as a way to decide results at ICC events will be retained. Both the Cricket Committee and CEC agreed it was an exciting and engaging conclusion to the game and will remain in place covering all games at both ODI and T20I World Cups,” the ICC said after its board meeting here.
“In group stages, if the Super Over is tied the match will be tied. In semifinals and finals, there is one change to the Super 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 have more runs than the other,” the ICC statement added.
The board also decided that the eight-year cycle commencing in 2023 will comprise eight men’s events, eight women’s events, four men’s U19 events and four women’s U19 events.
“In examining a whole range of options, the ICC felt a major men’s and women’s event each year will bring consistency to our calendar whilst complementing bilateral cricket, giving our sport a strong future foundation,” ICC chairman Shashank Manohar told reporters.
PTI