Ask the Laws Department: V (Running on pitch)
MCC are the Guardians of the Laws of cricket.
The fifth in a new feature, in conjunction with Wisden Cricketer, where Fraser Stewart from the MCC Laws Department answers common questions and queries on the Laws of the Game.
Avoid the middle ground
VVS Laxman: batting at Lord's If you were watching the India-Australia Test series at the end of last year, you might have spotted an incident in the third Test at Delhi.
The umpires denied VVS Laxman right a run after he had run across the pitch while taking a single. This caused confusion among the commentators, as Laxman had not previously been cautioned. They thought you needed a caution, then you would lose the run on the second offence.
In fact, it was his partner Anil Kumble who had caused the umpire to issue the Indian team with a warning.
Unlike warnings given to bowlers for following through on to the protected area, warnings given to members of the batting side count against the whole side.
So, if the umpires have issued a caution it will apply to all of the batting side and the umpires should inform each new batsman.
If there is a second transgression by anyone, such as by Laxman, all runs to the batting side for that delivery are disallowed (other than any penalty for a no-ball or a wide) and the batsmen must return to their original ends.
The second and final warning is given to the offending batsman and, again, his partner and all incoming batsmen are to be informed.
The MCC ground-staff look after the Lord's pitch meticulously If there are further infringements, the same sanctions as for the second transgression take place and also five penalty runs are awarded to the fielding side.
The umpires should then send a report against the captain and players concerned to the governing body responsible for the match.
In this offence the damage to the pitch must have been
avoidable and it should be noted that the damage is
to the whole pitch and not just ‘the protected area’,
which starts five feet from the popping crease and extends one foot either side of an imaginary line joining the middle stumps (the protected area is relevant only for the bowler’s follow-through).
So the striker has to move off the pitch as soon as is reasonable when he sets off for a run.
A bowler will receive a caution and then a final warning for running on the protected area but a third offence results in a suspension from bowling for the remainder of the innings.
For fielders there is only one warning and, on all subsequent offences by any member of the fielding side, the batting side are awarded five penalty runs - again the relevant governing body should receive a report of the incident at the end of the game.
Ask the umpire
- with MCC Laws sub-committee
Ryan Sidebottom ducks under a bouncer from Dale Steyn A fast bowler delivered a ball which passed the batsman at head height without bouncing, although it was over a metre outside the off stump and ended up at second slip. The umpire called and signalled no-ball.
Was he right to do this or should it have been a wide, as it was so far from the batsman that it wasn’t at all dangerous?
MCC says:
The umpire was correct in calling and signalling no-ball, under Law 42.6(b)(i), which states:
"Any delivery, other than a slow paced one, which passes or would have passed on the full above waist height of the striker standing upright at the crease is to be deemed dangerous and unfair, whether or not it is likely to inflict physical injury on the striker."
Furthermore, Law 24.10 states that a call of no-ball shall override a call of wide ball.
For no-ball to be called if the delivery is a slow one, the ball must be above shoulder height, rather than waist height.
It is good practice for umpires to work together with regards to adjudicating the height of the delivery with the final decision resting with the umpire at the bowler’s end.
