MCC makes a big rule change; boundary catches with ‘bunny hops’ set to be illegal

In an interesting turn of events, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has changed the boundary-fielding rules, which will be adopted in October next year to enhance the fairness of the catches taken beyond the ropes.

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Moving into the details, according to the new MCC boundary fielding law, a fielder who is airborne can only touch the ball once beyond the boundary and will need to come back inside the field for the catch to be called legal and fair.

According to reports, the MCC has updated the rules after suggestions from the ICC’s cricket committee referred to a BBL catch by the Australian fielder Michael Neser in 2023. Delving into the details of the catch, Neser hopped twice in the air to keep the ball in play beyond the fence before throwing it back inside the ropes to complete the catch.

Here’s the video of the incident:

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https://x.com/7Cricket/status/1933735251504714228 

“MCC has devised a new wording where the ‘bunny hop’ wholly beyond the boundary is removed, but these catches where the fielder pushes the ball up from inside the boundary, steps outside and then dives back in to catch the ball, are permitted.”

Under the current Law 19.5.2, an effort beyond the ropes is fair enough if the fielder’s last contact with the ground before first touching the ball was within the boundary and they do not touch the ball and the ground outside simultaneously.

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The MCC noted that though Neser’s effort “fulfilled the law, it felt like the fielder had — quite literally — gone too far.”

The MCC added, “Our solution has been to limit any fielder who has gone outside the boundary to touching the ball while airborne only once, and then, having done so, to be wholly grounded within the boundary for the rest of the duration of that delivery.”

A look at the updated law on boundary catches

19.5.2 A fielder who is not in contact with the ground is considered to be grounded beyond the boundary if, prior to their first contact with the ball, their final contact with the ground was not entirely within the boundary. This applies to any fielder who makes contact with the ball after it has been delivered by the bowler, whether or not the ball has previously been touched by another fielder.

19.5.2.1 If a fielder's first contact with the ball does not contravene 19.5.2, that fielder may then jump from outside the boundary in order to make contact with the ball whilst airborne. After making contact with the ball once airborne, all subsequent contact with the ground by that fielder, until the ball becomes dead, must be within the field of play. Any subsequent contact with the ground outside the boundary by that fielder during that delivery, whether or not in contact with the ball, will result in a boundary being scored.

19.5.2.2 If the ball is returned to the field of play, whether to another fielder or onto the ground, by a fielder who has jumped from outside the boundary, that fielder must land, and remain, within the boundary until the ball becomes dead. Otherwise, a boundary shall be scored.

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