Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed bizarrely on the 1st Day of the second Test match against New Zealand. This was one of the rare occasions when a batter gets out by ‘handling the ball’ or obstructing the field. There are some bizarre dismissals that we have witnessed in the past, let us look at five such sent-offs.
What is obstructing the field in cricket?
According to 37.1.1 law, “Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, and while the ball is in play, he/she wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.”
“The striker is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defence of his/her wicket.”
Three bizarre dismissal obstructing the field
| Player | Year | opposition |
| Rameez Raja | 1987 | England |
| Mohinder Amarnath | 1989 | Sri Lanka |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 2023 | New Zealand |
Mushfiqur Rahim
Rahim’s absurd dismissal came in the 41st over of the second test match against New Zealand. He was defending a delivery from Kyle Jamieson to get hit on the stumps. New Zealand appealed for an out and Umpire sent the batter back to pavilion.
Mohinder Amarnath
The second instance of field obstruction in ODI cricket happened in the match between India and Sri Lanka. India’s batter Mohinder Amarnath kicked the ball on his way after being sent back by his batting partner Navjot Singh Sidhu for a run. He did this to prevented himself from a run-out.
Rameez Raja
In November 1987, Pakistan’s Ramiz Raja became the first player in the history of One-Day Internationals (ODIs) to be dismissed for blocking the field in 1987 against England.
Difference between Obstructing the field and Handling the ball
Mushfiqur Rahim was given out because he was handling the ball but his dismissal will come under obstructing the field as ICC changed the rules in 2017 and removed the “handled the ball” category and brought it under “obstructing the field”.
