The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has clarified that the controversial run out of Salman Ali Agha during the second ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Dhaka was correctly adjudged under the Laws of Cricket, while also noting that the fielding side could have chosen to withdraw the appeal in keeping with the Spirit of Cricket.
The incident occurred when Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz attempted to field a shot played by Mohammad Rizwan. As Miraz moved across the pitch to collect the ball, he collided with Agha, who had backed up at the non-striker’s end.
In the confusion that followed, Agha bent down as if to pick up the ball and hand it back to the bowler, seemingly under the impression that play had come to a halt.
However, Miraz quickly gathered the ball and deflected it onto the stumps while Agha was still outside his crease, leading to the Pakistan captain’s dismissal. After the match, Agha referenced the Spirit of Cricket, remarking that he would have chosen differently had he been the fielder and instead “gone for sportsman spirit.”
In response to the debate over the incident, the MCC issued a statement confirming that the on-field decision was correct. “Under Laws, there is little that either umpire could have done differently. The non-striker was clearly out of his ground when the wicket was broken, and the ball was in play. That is out,” the statement said.
The MCC also pointed out that Agha had put himself at greater risk by trying to handle the ball.
“It is also worth pointing out that the non-striker had left his ground when the ball was in play and had just started to attempt to regain his ground when he collided with Mehidy. Furthermore, no batter should attempt to pick the ball up without the consent of the fielding side, and had he done so, he would have been at risk of an Obstructing the field dismissal. In retrospect, he would have been better using that time to attempt to regain his ground,” the statement read.
Amid suggestions that the ball should have been declared dead after the collision, the MCC rejected that interpretation, stating that the Laws did not permit such a ruling in this situation.
“There have been some suggestions that the ball should have been treated as Dead. That is not viable under the Laws; the ball does not become dead when players collide – if it did, that would incentivise players to seek out collisions when the situation was advantageous. There was no question of a serious injury, so there could be no call of Dead ball for that. It could not have been clear to the umpire that all the players ceased to consider the ball to be in play, since Mehidy clearly believed it was live, even if Agha did not. And it cannot have been finally settled in the hands of the bowler or wicket-keeper, since it was on the ground.”
The MCC further explained that even the revised dead-ball law, scheduled to take effect in October, would not have changed the outcome of the incident.
“Under the new Laws, which will come into effect in October, an umpire will be able to determine that the ball is finally settled if it is stationary on the ground. However, it is hard to make an argument that the ball is finally settled if the nearest fielder to it is attempting to run the non-striker out, with that non-striker out of their ground.
“There is no case, therefore, to be made that this was Not Out under Law, nor that the Law could be rewritten to somehow make a situation like this Not out.”
While backing the dismissal’s legality, the MCC acknowledged that Bangladesh could have recalled the batter if they wished to uphold the Spirit of Cricket.
“Yet many people have expressed sympathy for Agha and suggested that this dismissal was against the Spirit of Cricket.
“It certainly would have been possible for Mehidy, as Bangladesh captain, to withdraw his appeal. Agha clearly thought the ball was dead and was attempting to assist the fielding side after an unintentional collision, which made it harder for him to regain his ground. The Laws allow a withdrawal for incidents where the batter is out in Law, but the fielding side feels that it would be better, within the Spirit of Cricket, to allow them to continue.”
