MCC CLARIFICATION ON OBSTRUCTING THE FIELD

Following an incident which took place in the second women’s One-Day International between West Indies and Sri Lanka in Grenada, the clip below has been widely shared, with questions about whether the batter should have been given Out Obstructing the field, and whether it was within the Spirit of Cricket for the fielding side to appeal.
 

Under Law 37.4, either batter is out Obstructing the field if, while the ball is in play they use the bat or any part of their person to return the ball to a fielder without consent from the fielding side.

This Law exists because, while the ball is live, it belongs to the fielding side except when the striker is trying to hit it. A striker may have a sweaty glove, and their picking up the ball might change its condition. The other batter, unbeknownst to them, might have left their ground, so by interfering they might be preventing a potential Run out.

If this Law didn’t exist, batters could constantly interfere with the fielding side, hiding behind the excuse of ‘just returning the ball’. Often, it would be innocent, but it would be a way of masking more sinister behaviour. For that reason, the Law is a blanket one – unless the fielding side consent, the batter must not return it.

In a scenario like this, the fielding side might sometimes choose not to appeal, and that is entirely within their gift. However, once they do appeal, the umpires had no option but to give the striker Out.

Law 37 can be read here: Obstructing the field