As part of an important law revision, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), custodians of the Laws of Cricket, has confirmed a significant update to the rule concerning boundary catches. This new version will be adopted in ICC\u2019s playing conditions from later this month and officially enter the MCC\u2019s Laws in October 2026.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The revision, which comes following a request from the ICC Cricket Committee, aims to address what many in the cricketing world have viewed as a growing inconsistency between spectacular athleticism and fairness in the spirit of the game. The MCC noted that while recent interpretations of the law have enabled \u201csome spectacular fielding,\u201d they have also \u201ccreated room for some unusual-looking catches that, to the majority of the cricketing public, feel unfair.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The incident that accelerated the review was Michael Neser\u2019s stunning catch in BBL 2023 for Brisbane Heat. Chasing a lofted drive from Sydney Sixers' Jordan Silk, Neser caught the ball just inside the rope but, realizing his momentum would carry him over the boundary, tossed the ball up mid-air. He landed outside the boundary, jumped again\u2014while still airborne\u2014palmed the ball back into play, then returned to the field of play to complete the catch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Though legal under Law 19.5.2 at the time\u2014which states that the fielder's last contact with the ground before first touching the ball must be within the boundary\u2014Neser\u2019s \u201cbunny hop\u201d sparked widespread debate. The MCC, in its official explanation, described the move as one that \u201cfulfilled the law,\u201d but added that it \u201cfelt like the fielder had\u2014quite literally\u2014gone too far.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Inspired by Matt Renshaw\u2019s similar effort in BBL 2020, where he tapped the ball back from beyond the boundary for Tom Banton to complete the catch, Neser\u2019s play was a masterclass in exploiting the law\u2019s loopholes. But such spectacles, while technically sound, struck a dissonant chord with traditionalists and fans alike.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While some advocated a full rollback to the pre-2010 law\u2014when fielders had to re-ground themselves inside the boundary before any second contact with the ball\u2014the MCC dismissed that option as \u201cprobably too draconian.\u201d It would eliminate modern classics like Harleen Deol\u2019s catch against England in 2021 and Alex Hales\u2019 BBL stunner in 2020, both of which were legal but wouldn\u2019t have been under the older version.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Instead, the MCC has introduced what it terms a \u201csolution\u201d that limits any fielder who has gone outside the boundary to only one airborne contact with the ball, and then mandates that they be \u201cwholly grounded within the boundary for the rest of the duration of that delivery.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Their guidance is explicit: \u201cMCC has devised a new wording where the \u2018bunny hop\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This also applies to relay catches. If a fielder touches the ball while airborne beyond the boundary and then passes it to a teammate inside the field, they themselves must return and land within the boundary before the catch can be deemed fair. \u201cEven if the ball is parried\u2014to another fielder or inside the field of play\u2014if the fielder lands outside the boundary, or subsequently steps outside, then a boundary will be scored,\u201d the MCC clarified.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFor clarity,\u201d the statement continues, \u201cthat means the fielder gets one chance, and one chance only, to touch the ball having jumped from outside the boundary. After that point, the boundary becomes a hard line\u2014and any time they touch the ground in that delivery, whatever else happens, they must be inside.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This also applies to relay catches. If a fielder touches the ball while airborne beyond the boundary and then passes it to a teammate inside the field, they themselves must return and land within the boundary before the catch can be deemed fair. \u201cEven if the ball is parried\u2014to another fielder or inside the field of play\u2014if the fielder lands outside the boundary, or subsequently steps outside, then a boundary will be scored,\u201d the MCC clarified.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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