BBC Sports Personality of the Year award viewers are convinced Ben Stokes is the winner after Gary Lineker used a surprising turn of phrase.
Introducing a segment celebrating England's World Cup win, Match of the Day host Lineker described Stokes as the "main award winner".
Lineker had previously referred to Stokes' competitors Raheem Sterling and Alun Wyn Jones as "contenders" when introducing them, reports the Mirror Online .
The presenter then made sure to clarify his comments when Stokes was on stage, admitting that it had been an accident.
Although the shortlist is decided by an expert panel, the final winner is decided on the night via a public vote. Cricketer Stokes is already tipped by many to be the winner after beating Australia by a single wicket in the 2019 Ashes series.
Other contenders include Katarina Johnson-Thompson , the 26-year-old heptathlete from Liverpool, who won gold at the World Championships this year.
Viewers were quick to pick up on Lineker's accident, with user @ChrisCarey1973 tweeting: "Did Gary Lineker just describe Ben Stokes as 'main award winner?' Cat out the bag???"
Meanwhile, user @manosixstring tweeted: "Oops, Gary Lineker introduces Ben Stokes as the main award winner, the subtitles said main award contender. Cue the conspiracy stories..."
But some viewers seemed happy their pick of the night could be the one to win, with @OllieDavie tweeting: "I hope Gary Lineker was supposed to say 'main event contender'.
"Either way - nobody deserves it more than Ben Stokes. Blessed to have been at Headingley for that outrageous innings."
As well as becoming England's cricket hero this summer, Stokes took on the S*n newspaper after it published a story about private family traumas in the sportsman's past.
