Summary of this article
Pakistan’s Salman Agha run out by Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz during 2nd ODI
Dismissal sparked a debate around sportsmanship
MCC clears air on umpires' role and interpretation of the law
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), custodian of the game’s laws, has said the controversial run-out of Pakistan’s Salman Agha by Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz during the second ODI was correctly adjudged as out under the rules.
The incident, which sparked a debate around sportsmanship, occurred when Mehidy ran Agha out at the non-striker’s end.
The dismissal came in the 39th over when Mohammad Rizwan played a shot back towards the bowler. After a slight collision with Mehidy, Agha stepped out of his crease to pick up the ball and return it, mistakenly believing it was dead.
However, Mehidy collected the ball and struck the stumps with Agha well out of his ground.
"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," MCC said in a statement.
"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." Agha, who was dismissed for 64, reacted angrily, throwing his helmet and gloves in frustration. The ICC later reprimanded him and added one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the Code of Conduct.
"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," the MCC said.
"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 re-written to somehow make a situation like this Not out." The MCC also dismissed suggestions that the ball should have been declared dead, noting that collisions alone do not warrant such a call unless there is a serious injury or it is clear that play has ceased.
"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," it said.
"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." Despite the controversy, Pakistan went on to win the match by 128 runs (DLS method) to level the series.
