The MCC has given its formal view on the run-out of Pakistan captain Salman Agha during last week’s second ODI in Dhaka, concluding that the dismissal “was fully in accordance with the Laws of the game”. It did, however, point out that Bangladesh were free to withdraw their appeal had they wished to invoke the Spirit of Cricket.
A brief recap. In the 43rd over, Agha left the non-striker’s crease while backing-up. Bowler Mehidy Hasan Miraz chased a straight drive from Mohammad Rizwan, collided with Agha, scooped the ball up and flicked it onto the stumps. The television umpire confirmed the batter was short of his ground; Agha walked off shaking his head.
After the match Agha suggested he might have acted differently, saying he would have “gone for sportsman spirit”.
Yesterday the MCC – custodians of the Laws – published a statement. The governing body saw no grey area on the legal side:
“Under Laws, there is little that either umpire could have done differently,” the statement said. “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 continued, spelling out the risk Agha took by bending down to pick up 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.”
Bangladesh’s right to stand by their appeal has caused most of the debate. On social media some argued that contact between the players rendered the ball dead. MCC disagreed:
“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.”
A tweak to Law 20 covering when a ball is “finally settled” takes effect in October. Under the revision umpires may judge the ball dead if it lies stationary and no fielder moves to collect it. MCC hinted that even under the new wording, this particular incident would still be live because Mehidy was already trying to field the ball.
Former umpire Richard Illingworth told local radio the decision was “straightforward by the book”, adding that any withdrawal of appeal would have been “purely optional sportsmanship”. Ex-Pakistan opener Azhar Ali, meanwhile, felt Bangladesh missed “a goodwill moment” but accepted the legality.
For Pakistan the dismissal was costly – Agha had settled in on 32, and the visitors fell 18 runs short. Bangladesh lead the three-match series 1-0 heading into Wednesday’s day-nighter in Chattogram.
The episode serves as another reminder: awareness of the Laws is non-negotiable, but the Spirit remains a judgment call for the fielding side.
