An indelible scar on the cricket annals, the 2019 World Cup final featured a controversial umpiring decision that left New Zealand lamenting what might have been. Kumar Dharamsena, an umpire in that nail-biting encounter, made what turned out to be a pivotal mistake in awarding an extra run that arguably cost the Blackcaps the laurels of cricket’s most coveted tournament. As fate would spin its wheel, years later, in a different setting, a similar situation arose, yet this time, the men in charge were ready and averted a potential repetition of history.
In the dramatic realm of Test cricket, specifically during the first Test between India and England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Chris Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel stood as the vigilant arbiters. On January 25th, with the shadows stretching and the stadium bathed in the glow of floodlights, a moment arose that demanded impeccable judgement from the umpires.
England’s promising bowling allrounder, Rehan Ahmed, deftly directed a would-be yorker from India’s Jasprit Bumrah towards the leg side and hastened for two runs. Mohammed Siraj, alert in the outfield, attempted to disrupt the sprint with a throw towards the bowler’s end. His aim, however, was askew, the ball evading its target and continued to the boundary, after bypassing the backup fielder’s efforts to intercept.
Reiffel, with a calm demeanor, signaled five runs—not six—after the batters, Ahmed and Ben Stokes, completed their second run. The wisdom of this decision lay within the deeply ingrained principles of cricket law 19.8, which stipulates the validity of runs at the moment of a fielder’s throw. As both batters had not crossed paths on the second run “at the instant of the throw,” the umpires correctly concluded that only five runs should grace England’s tally.
This sharp contrasted the misjudgement witnessed in the World Cup final. Staring down nine runs required off the remaining three balls, Ben Stokes, England’s stalwart hero, clubbed a Boult full-toss toward deep midwicket. In a desperate bid to thwart his advance, Martin Guptill hurled the ball back from the boundary. An unfortunate and accidental deflection from Stokes’ bat propelled it to the boundary for an additional four runs. At this critical juncture, Dharamsena, besieged by pressure and the sheer pace of events, signaled six runs instead of the justifiable five.
The immediate aftermath saw a collective gasp from the cricketing fraternity, as it became evident that not unlike Ahmed and Stokes, Adil Rashid and Stokes had not managed to cross at the moment of Guptill’s throw. The bespectacled Sir Dharamsena, accepting the weight of his error after the fact, stood firm without regret, acknowledging it as a judgmental lapse, yet did not waver from his initial decision.
Reflecting on these two watershed moments brings to light the immeasurable pressures that rest upon the shoulders of cricket umpires. They are the all-seeing custodians of the cricket field, their decisions sculpting the narratives of matches and even eras. With the ghosts of the 2019 final haunting the sport’s collective memory, the foresight and composure of Gaffaney and Reiffel in Hyderabad will be celebrated as a beacon of umpiring prowess. The duo’s unfaltering adjudication, supported by a thorough understanding of the sport’s laws, not only preserved the integrity of the game on that day but also acted as a salve over the previous wounds inflicted upon the New Zealand team.
The game of cricket, governed by an intricate network of regulations, continues to evolve. Yet, it reminds us that within its theater of unpredictability and excitement, accuracy and the quest for fairness remain timeless pursuits, emboldened by officials who, with eagle eyes and unwavering concentration, hold the scales of justice with an unflinching grip.
