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10 Lesser-Known Laws of Cricket
The earliest laws of Cricket are believed to be existing since 1744 when the first know draft was published and since 1788, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London has been the custodian of the Codes of Cricket aka the cricket rule book.
The Origin of the game dates back to the 16th Century, initially started as a ‘Boys game’ then adopted by the adults with cricket rules. The game has seen a lot of changes since then, from an era when there were no fixed boundaries to an era when players play for glitz and glamour, Cricket has come a long way. The primary rules of the game have always remained constant while additions have been made to fit it in the modern age. Today, we are going to talk about some rules that are lesser-known but exist in the modern era. We can bet you would be surprised to read a few! Let us check out some lesser-known laws of cricket:
1. The Mankad Rule
Named after the Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad, this rule has been the talk of the town after Ravichandran Ashwin infamously dismissed Jos Buttler on the non-striker’s end during an IPL match in the 2019 season. The rule states that, while bowling a delivery, if a bowler dismisses the non-striker by removing the bails after he has left the crease, it will be considered a run-out.
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2. LBW (not really!)
Did you know that a batsman can be given an LBW(Leg before wicket) decision even if the ball comes in contact with the body and not the legs necessarily, provided that the part of the body is in front of the wicket? Isn’t that outrageous? But it is true, our very own master blaster once had to face this wrath while the legend McGrath was bowling at him, Google it!
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3. The ‘Ball hits Object’ Rule
This rule came into existence after Ariel Drones and Spider-cams took birth in the modern era. According to this rule if the ball hits an object such as a camera or an indoor roof of a stadium then it would be declared as a dead ball eve if the fielder catches it.
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4. 3 minutes or nothing
It may sound unreal but a batsman is given 3 minutes (180 seconds) to appear on the pitch and it is followed as a strict routine, if a player fails to make his appearance on the ground within this time he would be declared ‘retired hurt’ by the umpire.
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5. Hitting the Cap
While attempting a catch if the ball has touched the fielder’s cap or helmet then it is considered as not out. However, this rule does not apply to any other part of the body, if the fielder catches it after it has touched any part of the body other than the cap, the batsman would be considered out.
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6. Handling the ball
Under no circumstances is the batsman allowed to touch the ball while batting or while running between the wickets, if the batsman is seen touching the ball as an attempt to stop it from hitting the stumps, he would be declared out.
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7. Call Back
The captain of the fielding team can decide to withdraw his appeal after the umpire has declared a batsman out. This is taken in the good spirit of the game and is valid in situations when the wicket has fallen due to a collision or any other altercation. In such a case, the umpire can call back the batsman to take back his strike.
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8. The Penalty stroke
If the ball hits the helmet of the wicketkeeper which is kept on the ground after the batsman has hit the ball, the batting team is rewarded with 5 runs as a penalty.
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9. Appeal for the wicket
Under the Law 31 of Laws of Cricket, if the fielding team suspects that the batsman is out, the bowler has to ask the umpire “How’s that?” An umpire can only declare a batsman out after the fielding team has made an appeal. If the bowler or other members of the fielding team fails to make an appeal, the Umpire can decide not to give a decision even if the batsman is clearly out.
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10. Double Strike
A batsman is declared out if he willingly hits the ball twice with his bat after a ball is bowled.
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There are many such rules you may not have heard of yet! Tell us in the comments below which rules do you think is the most weird rule, also tell us if we missed an interesting rule and we might do a blog about it next time!
