The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the global authority on cricket’s laws, has announced a significant change to the rules regarding boundary catches, putting an end to multi-touch airborne relay catches outside the field of play. This change aims to bring clarity and fairness to a rule that has stirred considerable debate in recent years.
The decision follows controversial instances like Michael Neser’s catch in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2023, where the fielder jumped from inside the boundary, tossed the ball mid-air, landed outside the rope, jumped again to keep the ball alive, and eventually completed the catch after re-entering the field. Although the catch was legal under the previous law, it sparked criticism for undermining the spirit of the game.
Under the updated law, fielders will now be restricted to touching the ball only once while airborne outside the boundary. To complete a legal catch, the fielder must return to the field of play before touching the ball again or passing it to a teammate. If a fielder touches the ball more than once outside the boundary or fails to land inside the field, the delivery will now be ruled as a boundary.
The rule will be implemented in two phases. The ICC will enforce the change in its playing conditions starting with the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Test match on June 17, 2025. The MCC will formally adopt the revised law in its next code update, scheduled for October 2026.
The MCC clarified that the move is intended to uphold fairness in the game while still encouraging athleticism and innovation in fielding. This change effectively rules out previously legal but controversial plays like Matt Renshaw’s assist to Tom Banton in BBL 2020, which will now be considered illegal.
This new boundary catch law is expected to be welcomed by batters and fans alike, restoring balance and eliminating the grey areas in dramatic fielding efforts near the ropes.
