The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) are implementing a new catching rule in cricket from October 2026 that will prohibit the ‘bunny-hop’ catches where fielders jump and touch the ball while being outside the boundary. The rule change will still allow catches where fielders push the ball from within the boundary, step out, and dive back to complete the catch, but any contact with the ball from outside the boundary will require the fielder to land inside the field of play for the catch to count. The MCC has developed this rule change in response to concerns about catches that appear unfair to cricket audiences. The current law only invalidates catches where the player contacts both the ball and ground while outside the boundary ropes. “MCC has devised a new wording where the ‘bunny-hop’ wholly beyond the boundary is removed, but these catches where the fielder pushes the ball up from inside the boundary, steps outside and then dives back in to catch the ball, are permitted,” states the MCC note. The new rule provides specific guidelines for fielders attempting boundary catches. According to the MCC: “Our solution has been to limit any fielder who has gone outside the boundary to touching the ball while airborne only once, and then, having done so, to be wholly grounded within the boundary for the rest of the duration of that delivery.”
The MCC further clarifies: “Even if the ball is parried – to another fielder or inside the field of play – if the fielder lands outside the boundary, or subsequently steps outside, then a boundary will be scored. For clarity, that means the fielder gets one chance, and one chance only, to touch the ball having jumped from outside the boundary. After that point, the boundary becomes a hard line – and any time they touch the ground in that delivery, whatever else happens, they must be inside.“ The new law will be reflected in ICC playing conditions as early as next week, though official implementation begins in October 2026. Under the revised rules, catches like Michael Neser’s in the 2023 Big Bash League and Dewald Brevis’s for Chennai Super Kings against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025 will no longer be valid. Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? The exact law, numbered 19.5.2, states that a fielder not touching the ground is considered beyond the boundary if their last ground contact before touching the ball was not entirely within the boundary. This applies to all fielders contacting the ball after the bowler’s delivery. Section 19.5.2.1 of the law specifies that if a fielder’s initial ball contact complies with 19.5.2, they may jump from outside to touch the ball while airborne. However, all subsequent ground contact must occur within the field of play until the ball becomes dead, or a boundary will be scored. Section 19.5.2.2 further stipulates that if a fielder jumping from outside the boundary returns the ball to play, they must land and stay within the boundary until the ball becomes dead, or a boundary will be awarded. This rule change aims to eliminate controversial boundary catches while maintaining the possibility of spectacular fielding efforts that begin within the field of play. The new regulations provide clear guidelines for both players and officials regarding boundary catches.
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