Ask the Laws Department XXVI: (Dead ball)
MCC, the Guardian of the Laws of cricket, discuss key issues in 'Ask the Laws Department' in conjunction with The Wisden Cricketer. This edition clarifies the rules surrounding runners.
Pietersen was involved in a dead ball incident against Pakistan During the second Test between England and Pakistan at Edgbaston in August, there was a controversial incident during Kevin Pietersen’s innings. Pietersen was facing Mohammad Asif and, just as Asif was entering his delivery stride, Pietersen was distracted and started to back away towards square leg.
He kept both hands on the bat in the normal grip position, rather than for example holding a hand up to signify his distraction and, by the time Asif released the ball, Pietersen was about two feet outside the leg stump.
Asif delivered the ball normally and Pietersen made a half-hearted swing at the ball, not in self defence. The ball looped to mid off, where it was caught by Pakistan’s captain Salman Butt, who appealed for the catch. It is not clear exactly when the umpire, Marais Erasmus, called dead ball but it is obvious from the replays that he was starting to signal dead ball just as Pietersen was about to make contact with the ball.
Unsurprisingly, there was confusion as to whether Pietersen had been dismissed.
There are two relevant Laws that come into play, Law 23.3(b)(v) and (vi), which state that - either umpire shall call and signal Dead ball when:
(v) he is satisfied that for an adequate reason the striker is not ready for the delivery of the ball and, if the ball is delivered, makes no attempt to play it.
(vi) the striker is distracted by any noise or movement or in any other way while he is preparing to receive or receiving a delivery. This shall apply whether the source of the distraction is within the game or outside it.
It appears that Erasmus’s call of dead ball came under sub-section (vi) of 23.3(b), rather than under sub-section
(v) - and correctly so. Although the two sub-sections seem to cater for similar scenarios, there is a distinction between not being ready and being distracted. In this example, it is clear that Pietersen was distracted, as he had originally been in his normal stance position and was watching the bowler approach.
Sub-section (v) caters more for the scenario when a batsman looks up and is surprised to see the bowler is more advanced in his approach or action than he thought, and so he pulls away. In those circumstances, provided the ball is delivered, the umpire should only call and signal dead ball once it is clear that the striker did not attempt to play at the ball.
By making an attempt to hit the ball, Pietersen was taking a huge chance that the umpire would uphold his call of dead ball. He would have been better off leaving the ball well alone. An umpire less well-versed in the Laws might have given him out caught but Erasmus should be congratulated for his handling of the situation.
Ask the umpire - with MCC Laws sub-committee
"In a Friends Provident Twenty20 game I was watching, a fast bowler ran in to bowl but released the ball from his hand earlier than intended.
"The ball ended up stationary, well wide of the striker’s stumps towards the square-leg umpire on a line between the bowling crease and the popping crease.
"The ball was picked up by a fielder and returned to the wicketkeeper before the batsman had time to hit the ball.
"Was an offence committed by not allowing the batsman a chance to strike the ball?"
- Submitted by Leslie Davies
MCC says:
Under no circumstances can the batsman score runs once the ball has become stationary. It is slightly unclear from the question if the ball was either delivered by the bowler but simply came out very wrongly, or if it accidentally slipped out of his hand prior to delivery.
If it is the latter, Law 23.4(b)(viii) states that the umpire should call and signal dead ball if the "bowler drops the ball accidentally before delivery."
If the ball is bowled in the usual way but simply goes very awry, Law 24.7 states: "If a ball delivered by the bowler comes to rest in front of the line of the striker’s wicket, without having previously touched the bat or person of the striker, the umpire shall call and signal No ball and immediately call and signal Dead ball."
