The final encounter between England and New Zealand saw the host nation lift their maiden trophy.
World Cup 2019: The final encounter between England and New Zealand saw the host nation lift their maiden trophy.
However, the last over before the 'Super Over' was embroiled in controversies. In a match of high drama, England needed nine from three balls.
The return throw from Martin Guptill hit Stokes' bat as he dived to make his ground for the second, with the ball rebounding to the rope for an additional four runs. England were given six runs - two that were run and four for the boundary.
According to rules, once a throw rebounds off a batsman or bat, no further runs are taken. However there is no official rule to protect this, and the umpires had no choice but to award the extra four runs to Stokes and reduce the margin to three from two.
So was it fair to award England with the extra run which could have changed the course of the game?
1. What exactly happened
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Were England awarded one run during the chaotic scenes of Trent Boult's final over to Ben Stokes?
Ben Stokes hit Trent Boult to the deep. The return throw from Martin Guptill hit Stokes' bat as he dived to make his ground for the second, with the ball rebounding to the rope for an additional four runs.
After consultation with his colleagues, Kumar Dharmasena signalled six runs for the incident - two that were run and four for the boundary - meaning that England just needed three more from two.
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2. What does the law for overthrow state?
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Review of the footage shows that at the moment the ball was released by the New Zealand fielder, Martin Guptill, Stokes and Adil Rashid, had not yet crossed for their second run.
According to Law 19.8, pertaining to "Overthrow or wilful act of fielder", it would appear that England's second on-field run should not have counted, making it a total of five runs and not six.
The law states: "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the willful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act."
There is no reference to the batsman's actions at any other point in the Law.
3. Overthrow law shouldn't change: Kane Williamson
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Despite suffering and losing the title, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said, it wasn't a time to push for a change in the rules to prohibit runs from being awarded after a batsman is hit.
"The rule has been there for a long time," Williamson said.
"I don't think anything like that's happened (before) where you now question it. There were so many other bits and pieces to that game that were so important."
