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Obstruction by the non-striker


Owner: D Burns

"After the match, our umpire asked us this question - 'Can a batsman be given out when he has not himself broken the Laws of the game?' We answered - 'only if he had a runner and the runner was given out for some reason.' He congratulated us for that answer but said there was another way it could happen."

There is - but very few players or umpires would ever have seen it! Suppose a batsman hits a ball high into the air, and runs. The non-striker notices that deep third man is about to catch the ball, and loudly shouts out "drop it!" Distracted, the fielder drops the catch. The fielding side appeal for Obstructing the field. Because it was a possible catch that was obstructed, if the umpire agrees with the appeal, the striker will be out despite the fact that it was the non-striker who caused the original obstruction!

Read more about Law 37 (Obstructing the field) at the MCC website