On Sunday, during the ICC Women’s World Cup match between India and Pakistan, there was some confusion over the Run out of Pakistan batter Muneeba Ali.

Muneeba was batting in the fourth over of the Pakistan innings, when she survived an appeal for LBW. The ball rebounded to Deepti Sharma at slip, who threw down the stumps having seen Muneeba standing out of her ground. After a lengthy review, Muneeba was given out because her bat was not grounded behind the popping crease.

There are a number of pieces of Law to consider here. The first, and simplest, is that just because there was a vociferous appeal for LBW, the ball had clearly not become Dead. The appeal had been answered Not Out, the ball was not finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper, and Deepti’s act alone is demonstration that not all the players considered it Dead. The ball remains in play.

So, with the ball live, was Muneeba in her ground when the ball broke the stumps? The evidence here is pretty clear – her bat was in the air at the moment the bails were removed. However, there was some suggestion that she might have been protected by Law 30.1.2, which states:

“a batter shall not be considered to be out of his/her ground if, in running or diving towards his/her ground and beyond, and having grounded some part of his/her person or bat beyond the popping crease, there is subsequent loss of contact between the ground and any part of his/her person or bat, or between the bat and person.”

This Law means that if you are running or diving towards the end that the stumps are broken, and you ground your bat or person behind the line, you are not out if you then lose contact with the ground and the wicket is subsequently broken. Muneeba had grounded her bat beyond the popping crease after being hit on the pads, and her bat subsequently lifted. Isn’t this exactly what the Law covers?

The answer to that is no – the Law specifically only covers a player who is running or diving - and Muneeba was not moving towards her ground. She had taken guard from beyond the popping crease and at no time did her feet move back into her ground.  This Law, which was introduced in 2010 and is sometimes referred to as the ‘bouncing bat Law’, is to protect a batter who inadvertently loses contact with the ground as they move towards the stumps, either with their bat bouncing up or just with both their feet being airborne through the natural process of running. It does not protect a batter who is turning for another run, overbalancing, or who – as in Muneeba’s case – simply lifts their bat into the air. The third umpire was entirely correct to give this Out.

Finally, there is the question of how Muneeba should have been given Out – since she was not attempting a run, should she be out Stumped, or Run out? It’s a Run out – although she was not attempting a run, and it was not a No ball, the wicket was not broken by the wicket-keeper without the intervention of another fielder – it was instead a fielder who threw it. So the decision, correctly given by the umpires, is Out, Run out.