Big Bash League is in full swing in Australia, and yesterday’s match between Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes witnessed a brilliant effort for an unusual catch that stirred a wide-open controversy.
Matt pulled off a spectacular catch from a lively fielding effort on Thursday. The catch took place beyond the boundary line at the Gabba to dismiss the well-settled opener, Matthew Wade.
What initially seemed like a brilliant effort to chase the powerful lofted shot from Wade’s bat, turned out to be one of the most controversial catches on the field.
After the catch, not only were the fans amused even the umpires didn’t know whether to declare the batsman out or not. The laws of the game had to be referred before the batsman was given out but that decision was not supported by the experts around.
Matt ran from long-on and took the catch high above his head. The catching position had him fall backward, and he quickly threw the ball in the air before crossing the ropes.
Tom Banton was quick on his heels to collect the ball and everything was standard till now. It got interesting when the ball that was popped up remained on the other side of the boundary and Tom Banton was in no space to collect it.
Seeing the ball following him behind the line, Matt Renshaw jumped and from outside the boundary line pushed the ball in Tom Banton’s hands.
The umpire at first gave a not-out, but when the technicalities were checked out by the third umpire, the decision came to be a conclusive out, and Matthew Wade was told to go back to the pavilion.
Matthew Wade has to go after this spectacular effort from Matt Renshaw that will lead to plenty of debate about the Laws of Cricket! #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/wGEN8BtF5u
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2020
There were a lot of reviews on the catch and the majority stood out on believing that the original decision should have stayed, as Renshaw had stepped outside the boundary when he pushed the ball for the second time.
Justifying their decision, Lord’s, the official twitter account of Marylebone Cricket Club tweeted a clarification for the third umpire’s decision.
“Under Law 19.5, the catch is deemed lawful. The key moment is when he first touches the ball, which is inside the boundary. He’s airborne for his second contact,” they tweeted.
The controversy was stirred more after this tweet as few prominent names from the world of cricket criticized the law and demanded it to be arbitrated. James Neesham tweeted against the decision and his tweet something like this.
I’ve got no problem with where he left from. It’s where he ends up. After he touches the ball he needs to end up back in the field of play.
If that’s not the rule then the whole thing is farcical and the rule needs to change. https://t.co/Y797AsxP5G
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) January 9, 2020
The decision was reversed by the third umpire based on the laws that were changed first in 2013 and updated in 2017. The latent efforts forced the authorities to update the laws in 2017, but there was not much changed in the laws and according to those laws Matthew Wade was given out.
Clause 19.4 ‘Ball beyond the boundary’ which concerns with the ball being grounded and clause 19.5, ‘Fielder being grounded’ clearly state this catch as legitimate and there are is no rule that concerns with fielder being beyond the boundary line in the air.
As long as the ball doesn’t touch the ground beyond the boundary or the rope is touched by a player who is grounded beyond the boundary rope, the catch is deemed to be in play.
Law 33.2.1 reads: “A catch will be fair only if, in every case either the ball, at any time or any fielder in contact with the ball, is not grounded beyond the boundary before the catch is completed. Note Laws 19.4 (Ball grounded beyond the boundary) and 19.5 (Fielder grounded beyond the boundary).” The laws clearly state that the player’s first contact with the ball must be made inside the playing area, i.e, inside the boundary.
Even Matt Renshaw, in the press conference, said he got lucky with the laws favoring the catch. “I was just worried about where the rope was and trying to keep it in,”
Renshawcontinued, “They always say play to the whistle in warm-up games. I made sure I played the whistle. I was trying to pass it to myself and luckily my twin Bants [Tom Banton] was over there ready to catch it as well. I just tried to play the whistle and keep the ball up and made sure I was in the air. But there was a fair bit of luck I reckon.”
After all of this, the custodians of the laws of cricket – Marylebone Cricket Club, should prefer to make a few changes because once a player crosses the boundary line, anything he/she does should be considered vague as they are out of the playing area.
But it also depends on when you had the first touch, as Law 33.2 states that, if the player’s first touch is inside the boundary line, then the decision is fair.
Still, there are a lot of things that contradict this and this catch could or could not have been a great start to the year for the cricket fans and experts all around the world.
This not only gives a talking point to the rule makers but also an opportunity to modify the rules for the modern game, provided that the athletism fielders show nowadays is quite unexpected.
Matt Renshaw’s presence of mind and understanding with the second fielder were the highlights of yesterday’s matches in Big Bash League.
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