Mushfiqur Rahim became the first
Bangladesh Men’s batter to be dismissed for obstructing the field during the
second Test against New Zealand at Mirpur on Wednesday.
Mushfiqur was given out obstructing the
field in the 41st over, leaving his side five down as he became only the first
Bangladesh Men’s batter to be dismissed in this fashion.
The veteran batter defended the ball and
extended his right hand to keep the ball away which looked to come out of
instinct albeit the ball was far from the stumps. Mushfiqur was confounded as
to what unfolded next.
New Zealand players appealed and the
on-field umpires sent the decision to the third umpire to review. The TV umpire
was satisfied after watching the replays that Mushfiqur stopped the ball
deliberately and was given out, as per ICC.
Since 2017, handling the ball has been
included within the ambit of ‘obstructing the field’.
The Laws of Cricket
regarding this rule after the update reads as follows:
37.1.1 Either batter is out Obstructing
the field if while the ball is in play, he/she wilfully attempts to obstruct or
distract the fielding side by word or action.
37.1.2 The striker is out Obstructing
the field if in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she
wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply
whether it is the first strike or a second or a subsequent strike.
The act of receiving the ball shall
extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in
defence of his/her wicket.
With the ball still in play and Mushfiqur
‘wilfully’ pushing the ball away, he had to be sent back to the dressing room
after scoring 35 off 83 balls.
A batter is not out for obstructing the
field if:
37.2 Not out Obstructing the field: A
batter shall not be out Obstructing the field if the obstruction or distraction
is accidental, or the obstruction is in order to avoid injury, or in the case
of the striker, he/she makes a second or subsequent strike to guard his/her
wicket lawfully as in Law 34.3 (Ball lawfully struck more than once).
Mushfiqur’s dismissal is also the first
batter to be dismissed for obstructing the field in Tests since the rule update
in 2017. While previously, seven batters have been given out ‘handling the ball’
in Men’s Tests history.
ANI
