MCC introduces major boundary rule change: What is it and how does it affect the sport? | Cricket News

In October 2026, the ICC and MCC will introduce a brand new catching rule in cricket, disallowing ‘bunny-hop’ catches the place fielders bounce from exterior the boundary to the touch the ball. Fielders can nonetheless push the ball from inside the boundary, step out, and dive again in to finish a catch.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) are implementing a brand new catching rule in cricket from October 2026 that may prohibit the ‘bunny-hop’ catches the place fielders bounce and contact the ball whereas being exterior the boundary. The rule change will nonetheless enable catches the place fielders push the ball from inside the boundary, step out, and dive again to finish the catch, however any contact with the ball from exterior the boundary would require the fielder to land inside the area of play for the catch to rely. The MCC has developed this rule change in response to considerations about catches that seem unfair to cricket audiences. The present regulation solely invalidates catches the place the participant contacts each the ball and floor whereas exterior 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 notice. The new rule supplies particular tips for fielders making an attempt 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 additional 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 regulation might be mirrored in ICC taking part in situations as early as subsequent week, although official implementation begins in October 2026. Under the revised guidelines, catches like Michael Neser’s in the 2023 Big Bash League and Dewald Brevis’s for Chennai Super Kings in opposition to Punjab Kings in IPL 2025 will now not be legitimate. Quiz: Who’s that IPL participant? The actual regulation, numbered 19.5.2, states {that a} fielder not touching the floor is thought of past the boundary if their final floor contact earlier than touching the ball was not fully inside the boundary. This applies to all fielders contacting the ball after the bowler’s supply. Section 19.5.2.1 of the regulation specifies that if a fielder’s preliminary ball contact complies with 19.5.2, they might bounce from exterior to the touch the ball whereas airborne. However, all subsequent floor contact should happen inside the area of play till the ball turns into lifeless, or a boundary might be scored. Section 19.5.2.2 additional stipulates that if a fielder leaping from exterior the boundary returns the ball to play, they have to land and keep inside the boundary till the ball turns into lifeless, or a boundary might be awarded. This rule change goals to remove controversial boundary catches whereas sustaining the chance of spectacular fielding efforts that start inside the area of play. The new laws present clear tips for each gamers and officers relating to boundary catches.