Former left-arm spinner and current England director of cricket Ashley Giles has strongly responded to claim made by ex-umpire Simon Taufel that the hosts were wrongly awarded an extra run during the last over of the World Cup final victory over New Zealand at Lord's on Sunday (July 14). 

A throw from Martin Guptill ricocheted off Ben Stokes' bat and went for four before on-field umpires awarded England six runs off that delivery. 

The three lions ended up tieing the game and once again scored just as many as the Kiwis did in the super-over. 

But they were awarded World Cup winners for the very first time when to break the tie, the boundary count was taken into consideration as per the laws.

Now Taufel, once part of the ICC elite panel of umpires, told Fox Sports  that the umpires had made a "clear mistake", as the batsmen had not actually crossed for the second run when the ball was thrown in by Guptill. 

"They should have been awarded five runs, not six," he said, stressing that Adil Rashid, not Ben Stokes, should've been facing the second-last ball with four runs needed instead of three. 

But on Monday (July 15) when asked whether he is worried by such talks, Giles said, "Not really. You could argue the last ball that (Trent) Boult bowled was a full toss on leg stump and if Stokes hadn’t just been looking for two, he probably would’ve banged it out of the ground anyway. We are world champions; we have got the trophy and we intend to keep it."

Five-time winner of International Cricket Council’s Umpire of the Year award - Taufel, it must be mentioned here, sits on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) laws sub-committee. 

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was left dejected by what eventually transpired. He had said: "It was a shame that the ball hit Stokes’ bat. Unfortunately, that sort of thing happens from time to time. It’s a part of the game that we play."

(Inputs from AFP)