The BBL match between Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers on New Year’s Eve saw a bizarre and first-of-a-kind catch being taken near the ropes by Brisbane bowler Michael Neser.
The match was in the balance when the incident took place as the Sixers needed 26 off 11 with Jordan Silk (41 off 22) belting everything in his sights.
The 2nd ball of the 19th over from Steketee was a gimme that Silk launched over long-off and it looked destined for six. Neser, however, cut the maximum short through some breathtaking reflexes and presence of mind to turn it into a catch.
The momentum Michael Neser had at the time of his first contact with the ball was taking him outside the boundary rope. Realizing it, the Aussie flicked the ball up in the air before going well outside the ropes to parry it back in and complete the catch.
Michael Neser's juggling act ends Silk's stay!
Cue the debate about the Laws of Cricket… #BBL12 pic.twitter.com/5Vco84erpj
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 1, 2023
Silk was shocked as he was controversially declared out and the catch was held fair. The Sixers went on to lose the match by 15 runs.
The legality of Michael Neser’s controversial catch
Though there have been many instances where players throw the ball up in the air from within the playing area, grab balance outside the boundary and then complete the catch, Neser’s effort was something never seen before.
Michael Neser not only walked further behind the ropes than normal, but he also touched the ball whilst his body remained outside the ropes as he parried it back in the playing area.
Fans in general and even the on-air commentators in Michael Hussey and Adam Gilchrist were left bamboozled as Jordan Silk was given out and Neser’s juggle was deemed legal.
Nonetheless, it indeed was a legal juggle according to the rules issued by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) as the first point of contact with the ball was made when Michael Neser had his feet inside the boundary ropes and at no point did Neser’s body touch the ball and the ground outside at the same time.
The MCC even put out a tweet of their own to clear the air on the controversial catch:
The key points are:
1) The FIRST contact must be inside the boundary, and
2) the fielder can’t be touching the ball and the ground beyond the boundary at the same time.#MCCLaws
— Marylebone Cricket Club (@MCCOfficial) January 1, 2023
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“I didn’t know if they’d changed the rules so I’m going to give it a crack and thankfully they didn’t change the rules,” the Brisbane Heat bowler said to Seven Cricket after the BBL match.