A Possible Scoring Error

On the first ball of the 18th over of the Australian innings in their World Cup Super 12 match against Afghanistan today, Glenn Maxweell hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for six over mid-wicket. Rashid Khan, who was fielding on the boundary, caught the ball before landing outside the boundary and tried to throw it back into the field of play. His attempted throw hit his boot and landed outside the boundary. This was given as Six.

This is incorrectly scored under the current Law.

If Rashid’s throw had not hit his boot, and had landed in the field of play without bouncing outside the boundary, then Australia would have collected whatever runs the two batsmen completed by running between the wickets before the ball was returned to the wicket. Rashid’s last contact with the ground, before his first contact with the ball, had been within the boundary as Law 19.5.2 requires.

Rashid caught and then threw the ball back. He did not misfield it. Under Law 19.8, it was a wilful (the word in the laws of cricket which means “not accidental”) act. Since the ball landed outside the boundary, under this Law, Australia should have been awarded:

If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side and the allowance for the boundary and the runs completed by the batters, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act.

This means, whatever runs the Maxwell and Wade completed (basically, the number of times the two crossed each other before Rashid threw the ball), plus, the allowance for the boundary.

The allowance for the boundary in this case is 4 and not 6. Law 19.7.1 specifies that “a boundary six will be scored if and only if the ball has been struck by the bat and is first grounded beyond the boundary without having being in contact with the ground within the field of play. This shall apply even if the ball has been previously touched by the fielder”

19.7.2 specifies that “A Boundary 4 will be scored when a ball that is grounded beyond the boundary whether struck by the bat or not, was first grounded within the boundary, or has not been struck by the bat.

The Law distinguishes a misfield (in which the fielder merely makes contact with the ball), and an overthrow (in which the fielder not only makes contact with the ball but is able to throw it.) The reference to “touched by the fielder” in 19.7.1 refers to misfields. For example, if a fielder leaps into the air to try and reach a ball headed for six and gets two fingertips to it, then it’s six even though he’s touched the ball.

So, Australia should have been awarded whatever Maxwell and Wade completed between the wickets before Rashid made the throw, and four overthrows. The striker for the next ball should have been determined by the number of runs they completed.

If Australia go on to winby one run, Afghanistan will have good questions to ask.