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Of the various ways in which a batsman can be adjudged out, there are four that are very rarely seen in actual play – handling the ball, being timed out, hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field.The last one was something England’s Ben Stokes discovered to his pain on Saturday in the ODI against Australia, and Adnan Akmal had a similar experience with during a domestic T20 match in Pakistan on Wednesday.There have been only six previous instances of batsmen falling to ‘obstructing the field’ in international cricket, and the coincidence of two instances of this making news in the same week has thrown the world into debate – whether Stokes was unjustly sent back, whether the law really means what it suggests, whether the spirit of the game should be invoked, and so on.The only 7 times this form of dismissal was seen in international cricket:
#7 Ben Stokes
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The ongoing second One-Day International between hosts England and Australia was engulfed in controversy as all-rounder Ben Stokes was given out obstructing the field.
The 24-year-old appeared to be protecting himself more than anything else when he stuck his hand out as bowler Mitchell Starc threw the ball back at the stumps after Stokes had hit Mitchell Starc’s fast and full inswinging delivery straight back to the bowler.
The Australian team, however, decided to appeal suggesting that Stokes was out of the crease and had intentionally struck out his hand. On-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson decided to hand over the final call to the third umpire, Joe Wilson, who ruled in the favour of the reigning world champions, much to the displeasure of the Lord's crowd who responded with loud boos.
Captain Eoin Morgan was seen having a long discussion on the rules of the game with the umpire even after Stokes was gone.
#6 Anwar Ali
During an ODI match against South Africa in November 2013, Anwar Ali became the fifth player in ODI cricket and the fourth from his country to be a victim to ‘obstructing the field’.
Ali, while trying to steal a quick bye, purposely turned in the way of the throw from wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock while running on the pitch, and was declared out. The decision was made in consultation with the third umpire.
#5 Mohammad Hafeez
Also in an ODI match against South Africa in 2013, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez was given out on a duck for obstructing the field. Hafeez was even more unlucky than his predecessors on this list, in the way that he was the first to be given out to this rule after the introduction of a major modification in the rule – batsmen would no longer be allowed to change their course while running between the wickets.
Hafeez’s body blocked a throw by South Africa wicket-keeper AB de Villiers as the batsman ran to the non-striker’s end, and he could be seen clearly changing his route in the middle of the run.
The South Africans went up in appeal, and TV umpire Billy Bowden ruled Hafeez out, who ripped off his gloves in agitation as he walked back to the pavilion.
#4 Inzamam-ul-Haq
In this closely contested encounter between India and Pakistan in Peshawar in 2006, Inzamam-ul-Haq fell foul of the rules after being dismissed with Pakistan requiring 40 from 41 balls.
Suresh Raina had aimed a throw at the stumps, and Inzamam had blocked the throw with his bat. Umpires Asad Rauf and Simon Taufel consulted each other and Taufel ruled Inzamam out, after the Indians went up in appeal.
It is true that Inzamam was short of his crease when he blocked the throw, but he made no deliberate attempt to come in way of the throw – raising the question whether this had been in ‘the spirit of the game’.
Inzamam had said later, “In my role as the Pakistan captain, I would say that the appeal from the Indian fielders was against the spirit of cricket. Certainly, there are several modes in which a batsman can be declared out, but many of them are not in the spirit of the game. I am particularly referring to obstructing the field, handling the ball and hit-the-ball twice dismissals; also about the illegal practice of underarm bowling and running out a batsman while backing up.”
#3 Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath has the ignominy of being the only Indian to be given out for obstructing the field, and for handling the ball as well – taking up the major responsibility of being victim to unusual dismissals from among his countrymen.
In a Nehru Cup ODI match against Sri Lanka in October 1989, Amarnath kicked the ball away from the bowler to avoid being run out. Amarnath was trying to make his way back to the crease after his call for a single was turned down and he was sent back by his partner Navjot Sidhu.
Mohinder Amarnath is also the only ODI batsman to be dismissed both ‘handled the ball’ – in 1986 – as well as ‘obstructing the field’ in 1989.
#2 Rameez Raja
During an ODI match between Pakistan and Australia in November 1987, Rameez Raja became the first man to be given out for obstructing the field in ODI cricket.
Raja was batting on 98, and his moment of indiscretion arrived on the last ball of the match, with 23 runs still to get for Pakistan. A needless act in hindsight, but who is to guess what can decide the actions of a sportsman on the highest stage.
While making his way back for a double, Raja found himself way short of his crease and blocked the fielder’s throw with his bat. He was declared out for 99, and earned his way into this list instead of a century in a losing cause.
#1 Len Hutton
One of the most accomplished batsmen of the first half of the 20th century, Sir Leonard Hutton also remains till date the only batsman to be given out for deliberately obstructing the field in a Test match.
During a 1951 Test match at The Oval against England, South African bowler Athol Rowan got a ball to hit Hutton’s bat handle and rise straight into the air. In an attempt to stop the ball on its way down, Hutton tried to swipe it away.
Wicketkeeper Russel Endean was in position to take the catch before Hutton’s act, and appealed successfully for obstruction, despite the fact that Hutton’s bat had not made contact with either the ball or the wicketkeeper.
It was unlucky for Hutton’s innings to end this way, especially since it was his 100th Test innings for England, but there was no doubt that Endean had his hands where the ball would have landed if not for Hutton’s indiscretion.
The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack reported, “…and then came the Hutton sensation and calamity. A ball from Athol Rowan lifted abruptly and struck Hutton on the glove. It ran up his arm and, when he looked round, it appeared to him, as he afterwards explained, to be falling on to his wicket. In that split second Hutton never thought about the wicketkeeper making a catch. He flicked the ball with his bat and missed it, but it fell neither on to his stumps nor into Endean’s gloves. The wicket-keeper had been obstructed and the South Africans rightly appealed. Just as rightly, Dai Davies signalled Hutton out.”
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