NEW DELHI: Cricket laws have always been a centre of debate. And Brisbane Heat's Michael Neser took a stunning catch against Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League on Sunday to open a debate yet again.
Chasing a 225-run target, Sydney Sixers needed 26 runs off 11 balls when Jordan Silk hit a Mark Steketee delivery towards long-off where Neser took the controversial catch.
Neser took the running catch but the momentum took him over the ropes and when he stepped beyond the boundary he threw the ball up in the air and jumped while taking it back. But the momentum had taken Neser too much behind the rope and he threw the ball again and then stepped back on the field to complete the catch.
Silk, batting on a 22-ball 41 protested with the umpires saying it was a six. But after multiple replays, Silk was ruled out and Sydney Sixers went on to lose the match by 15 runs.
Law 19.5.2 by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardians of the Laws of Cricket, states, "A fielder who is not in contact with the ground is considered to be grounded beyond the boundary if his/her final contact with the ground, before his/her first contact with the ball after it has been delivered by the bowler, was not entirely within the boundary."
Reactions by fans were divided and understandable. Some though it was out and some argued it was not out.
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