Silly rule’s Kiwi victim Neesham mocks change

New Delhi, October 15 

New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham mocked ICC after the world body decided to scrap the controversial boundary count rule that saw his team lose the ODI World Cup to England. ICC yesterday tweaked 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. 

“Next on the agenda: Better binoculars for the ice spotters on the Titanic,” tweeted Neesham, along with a link about the news of the change in the ICC rule regarding Super Over. 

Neesham was one of the New Zealand batsmen who featured in that Super Over.

Bit late: McMillan

Former New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan, whose final match with the Black Caps was the Lord’s decider, was also unimpressed. “Bit late ICC,” he tweeted. McMillan also brought up the issue of the controversial overthrow which saw England being awarded six runs in the final over. It was a Martin Guptill throw which got deflected off the bat of Ben Stokes and the ball crossed the boundary, giving England six runs. “How about fixing the other rule issue ICC... A dead ball once the ball has hit/deflected from a batsman?” McMillan wrote.

‘What’s happened has happened’

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said he was pleased to see ICC come up with a solution following the controversial World Cup final. “It’s good that future World Cup tie-breakers will be decided on the field. We can’t change the past; what’s happened has happened but we’re pleased to see the ICC employing a better solution,” White said. 

ICC announced that now 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. — PTI