EXPLAINER
Follow UsOn Day 2, on the fourth ball of the 102nd over which was bowled by Rehan Ahmed, on-field umpire Joel Wilson punished Ravichandran Ashwin for running down the pitch, and slapped India with a five-run penalty.
Ashwin, after blocking a full delivery from Rehan, ran right down the heart of the wicket, due to which he was pulled back immediately by the on-field umpire.
Thanks to the punishment, England will begin their innings on 5/0 instead of the usual 0/0.
So, why exactly were India and Ashwin punished? And were the umpires right to do so?
Were the umpires right to punish India?
Yes, the umpires were right to punish India. According to MCC’s laws, India’s actions warranted them getting slapped with five penalty runs.
What law did India break?
India were punished under Law 41 - unfair play.
By running down the pitch twice, they were guilty under law 41.2 ‘unfair actions’.
According to the MCC rulebook,
“41.2.1 The umpires shall be the sole judges of fair and unfair play. If an umpire considers that any action by a player, not covered in the Laws, is unfair, he/she shall call and signal Dead ball, if appropriate, as soon as it becomes clear that the call will not disadvantage the non-offending side, and report the matter to the other umpire.
41.2.1.1 If this is a first offence by that side, the bowler's end umpire shall then
- summon the offending player's captain and issue a first and final warning which shall apply to all members of the team for the remainder of the match.
- warn the offending player's captain that any further such offence by any member of his/her team shall result in the award of 5 Penalty runs to the opposing team.
41.2.1.2 If this is a second or subsequent offence by that side, the bowler's end umpire shall then
- summon the offending player's captain and inform him/her that there has been a further such offence.
- award 5 Penalty runs to the opposing side.”
Were India given a warning for running down the pitch before being punished?
Yes. Before the final ball of the 80th over, Ravindra Jadeja ran on the danger area. India received an official warning post the same, due to the batters encroaching the protected area.
What is the danger area / protected area?
According to the MCC (law 41.11),
“The protected area is defined as that area of the pitch contained within a rectangle bounded at each end by imaginary lines parallel to the popping creases and 5 ft/1.52 m in front of each, and on the sides by imaginary lines, one each side of the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps, each parallel to it and 1 ft/30.48 cm from it.”
Can batters be punished for running down the wicket too?
Yes. This is mentioned in law 41.14 - Batter damaging the pitch.
“41.14.1 It is unfair to cause deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch. If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he/she must move from it immediately thereafter. A batter will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his/her presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause.
41.14.2 If either batter causes deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch, other than as in 41.15, at the first instance the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence. The bowler's end umpire shall then
warn both batters that the practice is unfair and indicate that this is a first and final warning. This warning shall apply throughout the innings. The umpire shall so inform each incoming batter.
inform the captain of the fielding side and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of what has occurred
41.14.3 If there is any further instance of deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch by any batter in that innings, the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence.
The bowler's end umpire shall disallow all runs to the batting side
> return any not out batter to his/her original end signal No ball or Wide to the scorers if applicable. award 5 Penalty runs to the fielding side.
> award any other 5-run Penalty that is applicable except for Penalty runs under Law 28.3 (Protective helmets belonging to the fielding side).
> inform the captain of the fielding side and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of the reason for this action.”
Has this happened previously in Test cricket?
Yes. It has in fact happened with India previously, back in 2016 against New Zealand in Indore. Coincidentally, Jadeja was partly responsible for the penalty on that occasion too.
