In a recent cricket match, Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim experienced an unusual dismissal against New Zealand. In the 41st over, Rahim was given out for obstructing the field. He had defended a ball and instinctively extended his right hand to keep the ball away, although it was far from the stumps. This action led to his dismissal, making him the first Bangladesh Men’s batter to be dismissed in this manner.
The decision was reviewed by the third umpire after New Zealand’s appeal, who confirmed that Rahim had deliberately stopped the ball. This falls under the “obstructing the field” rule in cricket. Since 2017, the handling of the ball has been considered part of this rule. Specifically, a batter is out for obstructing the field if they wilfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action, or if the striker wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat while the ball is in play. Rahim’s action of pushing the ball away led to his dismissal after he scored 35 off 83 balls. This was also the first instance of a batter being dismissed for obstructing the field in Tests since the rule update in 2017.
