Protecting hand

A fielder, without the umpires permission, protects his finger or hand and comes into contact with the ball in play or takes a catch.

Should 5 penalty runs be awarded for illegal fielding along with the other runs completed by batsman?

Law 41.1 says that a fielder can use finger or hand protection only with the consent of the umpires. First notice that the Law refers to the umpires, both of them, not just one. It is clear that a fielder has a duty to request the umpires' permission to use such protection before he takes to the field of play.

If consent is not given, whether because of a refusal or a failure to request it, and the fielder's protected hand comes into contact with the ball in play, the fielder is guilty of illegal fielding and 5 penalty runs will be awarded to the batting side. The ball becomes dead instantly upon the offence and other runs may accrue in accordance with Law 18.11(b), that is all runs completed by the batsmen before the offence, plus the run in progress if the batsmen had crossed at the instant of the offence plus any other penalties that might be appropriate, such as Wide or No ball.

Law 3.6(c) makes it clear that the umpires must at all times ensure that players do not use equipment other than that permitted. Appendix D defines a fielder's equipment as being any item of external protective equipment that he is wearing. This clearly includes hand and finger protection. If the umpires have not carried out this duty when they could have done, an umpiring mistake has been made and it may seem harsh to punish the fielding side. The umpires must, together, deal with the problem that they have helped create as best they can. They may decide the fault was theirs and choose not to apply the penalty. Of course, it may be that the fielder had taken care to hide the protection from the umpires, in which case they can hardly be blamed. In any case, the fielder knows the Laws - or should do - and must accept any punishment that is imposed.

Before the match continues the umpires may decide that the fielder can continue to wear the protection, or they may decide he must remove it.



Read more about Law 41 (The fielder) and Law 18 (Scoring runs) at the MCC website