Summary
If a World Cup knockout match and its Super Over both ended in a tie, the team with more boundaries in the match won. Used once — in the 2019 WC Final — then immediately scrapped.
Full Explanation
The boundary count rule was one of cricket's most short-lived and controversial regulations. It was introduced for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup as a tie-breaking mechanism for knockout matches.
The rule stated that if a knockout match ended in a tie after the regulation game AND the Super Over, the team that had scored more boundaries (fours and sixes) during the match would be declared the winner.
It was invoked exactly once — in the 2019 World Cup Final between England and New Zealand at Lord's. Both the match (241 all) and the Super Over (15-15) ended in ties. England won because they had hit 26 boundaries to New Zealand's 17.
The rule was universally condemned as arbitrary and unfair. New Zealand were devastated. The ICC scrapped it immediately and replaced it with repeated Super Overs for all future ICC events.
Key Points
- •Used as final tie-breaker if Super Over was also tied
- •Team with more boundaries (4s and 6s) won
- •Used once — 2019 World Cup Final, England vs New Zealand
- •Scrapped immediately after the controversy
- •Replaced by repeated Super Overs
Notable Controversies
- •2019 World Cup Final — New Zealand lost the WC on this rule despite tying both the match and Super Over
- •Universally criticized as arbitrary — winning a World Cup based on boundary count was seen as absurd
- •New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was gracious but devastated