Through the New Zealand side defeated the in-form England by 4 wickets, the talking point of the match still remains the incident involving Paul Collingwood’s unfortunate dismissal by the third umpire which was overturned by Daniel Vittori on the grounds of good sportsmanship, insisting that it was imperative to maintain the spirit of the game.
When Collingwood was declared out after he unintentionally exited the crease thinking the over is completed, Vittori after discussing with his team mates pardoned his dismissal and the two shook hands on the pitch. The Kiwis skipper and Paul Collingwood are also team mates in the IPL franchise of Delhi Daredevils.
New Zealand now eye a semi-finals spot with this victory, while speaking about the unusual decision Vittori commented, “It was one of those situations where I had a little bit of time to think about it. I deliberated with team-mates and the umpires out there and in the end Paul had no intention of making a run, he just wandered out of his crease and it was a lot easier to call him back and get on with the game.
“Under the laws of the game it was probably out but we have discussed the spirit of the game a lot lately and that was the basis for the decision. More than anything it was easier just to get on with the game and hopefully turn around by getting him out shortly after.”