The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the laws of cricket, on Monday clarified that the controversial run-out during the Bangladesh vs Pakistan ODI was correctly awarded under the Laws of Cricket.“Under the law, there is little that any umpire can do differently. The non-striker was clearly off his ground when the wicket was breached and the ball was in play. That is out,” the MCC said in a statement.
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The MCC statement went on to read: “It is also worth noting that the non-striker had left his place while the ball was in play and had just begun to try to regain his place when he collided with Mehidy. Furthermore, no batsman should attempt to pick up the ball without the consent of the fielding side, and if he did so he would be at risk of being obstructed by a fielder who would have made better use of the ground in the reverse attempt to put him out.”Pakistan batsman Salman Ali Agha was involved in a rare and controversial dismissal during the second ODI against Bangladesh played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka last week.The incident occurred in the 39th over of Pakistan’s innings when the visitors were building a strong partnership. Agha and Mohammad Rizwan were at the crease and added 109 runs for the fourth wicket after Pakistan lost their first three wickets.On the fourth delivery of the over bowled by Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rizwan played a gentle push down the ground. The ball rolled towards Agha, who was standing outside his crease at the non-striker’s end after backing up.As the ball touched his pads, Agha bent down and tried to pick it up. Miraz quickly picked up the ball and broke the stumps with Agha still outside the crease, claiming a run out.The on-field umpire upheld the appeal and sent the decision up. The third umpire also ruled in favor of Bangladesh and upheld Agha’s appeal.The decision left Agha visibly frustrated as he returned to the pavilion. The visuals showed the Pakistan batsman expressing his displeasure after being dismissed.On suggestions that the ball should be declared dead, the MCC clarified: “There have been several suggestions that the ball should be treated as dead. This is not legally viable; the ball does not become dead when the players collide – if it did, it would encourage the players to seek collisions when the situation was advantageous. There was no question of serious injury, so there could be no call of the ball Dead because it was not clear that all the players would The Deadli stopped treating the ball as in play as Mehidy clearly believed it was alive, even though Agha was not, and it could not have been settled in the hands of the bowler or the keeper as it was on the ground.
