Neesham mocks belated Super Over rule change

New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham was left unimpressed after ICC decided to change the Super Over regulations, bringing an end to the boundary countback method used during the final of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

England won the World Cup for the first time in July after an unprecedented finish to the final at Lord's. The hosts triumphed by virtue of hitting more boundaries after the scores were level following the Super Over. Neesham, who played the Super Over along with batting partner Martin Guptill during that final at Lord’s, felt that the decision came too late.

“Next on the agenda: Better binoculars for the ice spotters on the Titanic,” Neesham wrote on Twitter with a link to a story about the rule change.

Kiwi batting coach Craig McMillan, who ended his tenure with the black caps following that final at Lord’s was left similarly unimpressed.

"Bit late ICC," he tweeted, before drawing attention to another controversial moment when England scored a bonus four runs via the bat of man of the match Ben Stokes as he dived to beat a Guptill throw at the stumps.

McMillan wrote: "How about fixing the other rule issue ICC...... a dead ball once the ball has hit/deflected from a batsman??"

England were awarded six runs after an overthrow resulted in a four with on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus later admitting they had made a mistake as only five runs should have been awarded.

According to the new law enacted by the ICC, the Super Over will be repeated until one team wins.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White chose his words carefully but his sentiments were clear.

"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 in a statement.

The ICC said of the changes: "Following on from a recommendation from the ICC Cricket Committee, the chief executives' committee agreed that use of the Super Over as a way to decide results at ICC events will be retained.

"Both... 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.

"In group stages, if the Super Over is tied the match will be tied. In semi-finals and finals... the Super Over will be repeated until one team has more runs than the other."