Cricket World Cup Should Have Joint Champions In The Future Instead of Super Overs, Ross Taylor Says

Teams that end the Cricket World Cup in a tie should share the title, Ross Taylor says.

One year after the controversial finish to the 2019 Cricket World Cup that saw England and New Zealand tied at 241 runs each after 50 overs followed by a Super Over, the New Zealand batsman said that he wouldn’t have minded if both teams shared the title. As the Hindustan Times reported, the International Cricket Council has come under criticism for giving England the title after both regulation and the Super Overs ended in a tie, leading to the third tie-breaker of number of boundaries scored.

The ICC changed the rule, allowing for repeated Super Overs until a champion is determined, but Taylor said that a tie is the appropriate ending at times.

“I’m still undecided in a Super Over in a one-day game, I think one-day cricket is played over such a long time that I have no problems in a tie being a tie,” Taylor told ESPNCricinfo.

“In T20, to continually go on is the right way to go. A bit like football or some other games, trying to get that win in, but I don’t think the Super Over is necessarily needed in a one-day game. I think you can have a joint winner.”

The regulation portion of the 2019 World Cup final had an exciting conclusion, with England needing 14 runs over the final four balls in order to tie, and reaching it in dramatic fashion.

Taylor revealed that he wasn’t even aware of the Super Over, saying he assumed the match was over when the teams ended in a tie and even went to say “good game” to umpires.

It’s not clear if there is any support behind Taylor’s idea, which would go against nearly every other major world sporting competition that has rules in place for extra time to be added to determine a champion. This often includes a format change, including a penalty shootout being added to the soccer World Cup in 1978.

As the Hindustan Times report noted, some of Taylor’s hesitance could stem from New Zealand’s difficulty in Super Overs, having lost seven out of eight. The New Zealand batsman could have at least one more chance to earn a World Cup title outright. As ESPNcricinfo reported, the winner of New Zealand’s cricket player of the year award for 2019-20 said he wants to play in the 2023 one-day World Cup in India.