A section of the boundary rope was displaced from its position for close to half an hour during the Pakistan-Netherlands 2023 World Cup clash in Hyderabad, leading to questions of the Laws of Cricket.
A small portion of the mid-wicket boundary cushion was disturbed and out of place for a lengthy passage of play in Pakistan’s first World Cup game. The incident first came to light in the fifth ball of the 21st over of the second innings of the game, when the boundary cushion was seen a few feet away from the marked white line underneath it, which is used to indicate the expected position of the hoardings.
For most international matches, boundaries are marked with solid white lines, topped by a boundary pad and usually a solid poster with various sponsor advertisements. According to the MCC Boundary Law: If a fixed object marking a boundary (in this case a cushion) is disturbed for any reason, Section 19.3.2 states: “The object must be immediately returned to its original position.” It is practical. This happens as soon as the ball becomes dead during play. ”
During the 22nd round, the boundary cushion was seen moving away from the white line and should have been returned to its original position immediately. But nearly 30 minutes after it was first spotted moving, it was still being pushed back further away from the white line.
If we had achieved great success in this direction, it might have been controversial. If the ball had gone over the white line and fallen into the boundary tape, there would have been confusion as to whether it was a four or a six. In that case, Article 19.3.1 applied and the law provided that if disturbed for any reason, “the boundary line shall be deemed to be in its original position”.
If the above situation had occurred, the batsman would have been awarded 6 points even if the ball was out of place and did not cross the boundary pad.
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