The cricketing world was left stunned when recently retired elite panel umpire Marais Erasmus admitted to a significant mistake made during the controversial 2019 ODI World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s. Erasmus’s revelation sheds light on the intricacies of umpiring in high-stakes matches and reignites debates surrounding the role of officials in determining match outcomes.

2019 ODI WC Final Controversy

The 2019 ODI World Cup final will forever be etched in cricketing history for its dramatic conclusion and contentious moments. England emerged victorious over New Zealand in a thrilling encounter that culminated in a Super Over, eventually won by the hosts on the basis of a boundary countback rule. This decision sparked debates and divided opinions among fans and experts alike.

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Crucial Umpiring Error

Amidst the excitement and tension of the final moments, Erasmus and his colleague Kumar Dharmasena made a crucial umpiring error that had a profound impact on the outcome of the match. In the 50th over of England’s innings, the umpires awarded six runs to the hosts for an overthrow despite the batters not completing the second run. This error proved to be pivotal as it significantly altered the equation in the closing stages of the match.

Erasmus’s Admission of Mistake

In a candid confession, Erasmus revealed that he and Dharmasena only realized the error the morning after the final, highlighting the pressure and intensity of the moment on the field. Despite their best intentions, the umpires failed to correctly assess the situation, leading to a misinterpretation of the rules and a consequential error in judgment.

“The next morning (after the final) I opened my hotel room door on my way to breakfast and Kumar opened his door at the same time and he said, ‘did you see we made a massive error?’ That’s when I got to know about it.  “But in the moment on the field, we just said six, you know, communicated to each other, ‘six, six, it’s six’ not realising that they haven’t crossed, it wasn’t picked up. That’s it,” Erasmus told ‘The Telegraph’.

Impact on the Final Result

The umpiring error in the final over of the match proved to be decisive, as it contributed to England’s eventual victory via the boundary countback rule. The misallocation of runs added an unnecessary layer of controversy to an already tense situation, leaving New Zealand and their supporters disillusioned and aggrieved by the outcome.

“It was just too high but they had burnt their review. That was my only error in the whole seven weeks and afterwards I was so disappointed because it would have been an absolute flip had I got through the whole World Cup not making an error and that obviously impacted the game a bit because he was one of their top players,” added the South African.

Reflections on Erasmus’s Umpiring Career

Erasmus’s admission of the mistake in the 2019 ODI World Cup final brings to light the challenges and pressures faced by umpires at the highest level of the game. Despite his illustrious career officiating in numerous international matches, Erasmus acknowledges the fallibility of umpires and the impact of errors on the outcome of matches.

Erasmus’s reflections on his umpiring career offer insights into the dynamics between officials and players from various cricketing nations. While New Zealand is praised for their respectful demeanour towards umpires, players like Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene are noted for their attempts to intimidate officials, underscoring the complexities of on-field interactions. 

Legendary South African umpire Marais Erasmus, who recently retired from international cricket umpiring, reminisced about his encounters with some of the toughest players during his esteemed career. Among them, former captains Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene stood out as particularly challenging to officiate.

Marais Erasmus speaks about toughest players

Marais Erasmus said,”It’s a challenging job but it’s also a very rewarding job. New Zealand were always very, very respectful. Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene tried to intimidate us. Sometimes it was subtle and sometimes not subtle. There are moments where you think ‘why am I doing this stuff’ but there’s so many more positive moments and benefits and I’ve never actually seen it as work.”

Ponting, renowned for his leadership and cricketing prowess, guided Australia to ODI World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007, while Jayawardene led Sri Lanka to the 2007 World Cup final. Their combined captaincy experience amounts to an impressive 510 matches, with 301 victories between them. Ponting holds the distinction of being the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket, amassing over 27,000 runs, while Jayawardene ranks fifth with almost 26,000 runs to his name.

“Thank god Jimmy (Anderson) was never captain” 

In addition to Ponting and Jayawardene, Erasmus also cited the formidable English pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad as formidable adversaries on the field. “Thank god Jimmy (Anderson) was never captain but no, no Jimmy was hard work. You knew that he was not a character that you should, you know, try and sweet talk or whatever. I normally just gave him quite abrupt, short answers,” said Erasmus.

“Because if you got into a debate with him it was going to be never-ending, especially when you spoke to Jimmy about the running on the wicket. He would argue it. I just said ‘you’re on the danger zone, try and get off. If you don’t I will give you a warning. It is not going to be a debate.’ Stuart Broad was challenging as well sometimes but he and Jimmy are fiery fast bowlers and that’s the way it should be,” he added.

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With a staggering tally of over 1,300 wickets between them, Anderson and Broad constitute the most successful bowling pair in Test cricket history. Despite Broad’s recent retirement with 604 Test scalps to his name, Anderson continues to dominate the longest format of the game. His recent achievement of surpassing the milestone of 700 Test wickets solidifies his status as one of the premier bowlers in cricket history, trailing only behind spin legends Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.