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The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has cleared the air around the controversial run-out of Salman Ali Agha during the second ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Dhaka. The MCC said the decision was correct as per the Laws of Cricket, but also added that the fielding side had the option to withdraw the appeal in the spirit of the game.
What happened?
The incident happened when Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz tried to field a shot played by Mohammad Rizwan. While going for the ball, Miraz accidentally collided with Agha, who was backing up at the non-striker’s end.
After the collision, there was a bit of confusion. Agha bent down as if to pick up the ball and return it, thinking the play had stopped. But Miraz quickly reacted, collected the ball, and hit the stumps while Agha was still outside his crease. This led to Agha being given out.
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After the match, Agha spoke about the Spirit of Cricket and said that if he were in the fielder’s place, he would have acted differently and gone with “sportsman spirit.”
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As the debate grew, the MCC released a statement supporting the umpire’s decision.
“Under Laws, there is little that either umpire could have done differently. The non-striker was clearly out of his ground when the wicket was broken, and the ball was in play. That is out,” the statement said.
MCC's take on Salman Agha's run-out
The MCC also explained that Agha made things worse for himself by trying to handle the ball.
“It is also worth pointing out that the non-striker had left his ground when the ball was in play and had just started to attempt to regain his ground when he collided with Mehidy. Furthermore, no batter should attempt to pick the ball up without the consent of the fielding side, and had he done so, he would have been at risk of an Obstructing the field dismissal. In retrospect, he would have been better using that time to attempt to regain his ground,” the statement read.
MCC dismissed the idea of declaring the ball dead
There were also suggestions that the ball should have been declared dead after the collision, but the MCC dismissed that idea.
“There have been some suggestions that the ball should have been treated as Dead. That is not viable under the Laws; the ball does not become dead when players collide - if it did, that would incentivise players to seek out collisions when the situation was advantageous. There was no question of a serious injury, so there could be no call of Dead ball for that. It could not have been clear to the umpire that all the players ceased to consider the ball to be in play, since Mehidy clearly believed it was live, even if Agha did not. And it cannot have been finally settled in the hands of the bowler or wicket-keeper, since it was on the ground.”
MCC on updated rules
The MCC further said that even the updated rule, which will come into effect later this year, would not have changed the outcome.
“Under the new Laws, which will come into effect in October, an umpire will be able to determine that the ball is finally settled if it is stationary on the ground. However, it is hard to make an argument that the ball is finally settled if the nearest fielder to it is attempting to run the non-striker out, with that non-striker out of their ground.
“There is no case, therefore, to be made that this was Not Out under Law, nor that the Law could be rewritten to somehow make a situation like this Not out.”
MCC on Spirit of Cricket
At the same time, the MCC did say that Bangladesh could have chosen a different approach if they wanted to follow the Spirit of Cricket.
“Yet many people have expressed sympathy for Agha and suggested that this dismissal was against the Spirit of Cricket.
“It certainly would have been possible for Mehidy, as Bangladesh captain, to withdraw his appeal. Agha clearly thought the ball was dead and was attempting to assist the fielding side after an unintentional collision, which made it harder for him to regain his ground. The Laws allow a withdrawal for incidents where the batter is out in Law, but the fielding side feels that it would be better, within the Spirit of Cricket, to allow them to continue.”
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