The Indian skipper Virat Kohli was not at all happy with the England opener Haseeb Hameed marking his guard well in front of the crease on the first day of the 4th Test match at The Oval. He was even seen complainting about it to the on-field umpire and having a long chat with him.
Well, the incident took place at the beginning of England’s innings when Hameed marked his guard outside the crease. He was seen using his spikes to scuff up the area. While it is very common to mark your guard by using spikes or even bat and bails, however, what didn’t go down well with the Indian skipper was the fact that Hameed didn’t mark the guard inside the crease.
Here, watch the video:
What is your take on batsmen marking their guard perilously close to the forbidden area of the pitch?
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For the unversed, as per ICC’s playing conditions for the World Test Championship, a striker is not allowed to mark guard ‘unreasonably close to the protected area.’ A batsman can mark his guard or take his stance without coming into the protected area, which is five feet from the popping crease.
And if the umpire feels that the batsman was wrong, he shall give him a warning before finally penalising five runs if he repeats it again. According to MCC rule 41.15.1: “The striker shall not adopt a stance in the protected area or so close to it that frequent encroachment is inevitable.
“The striker may mark a guard on the pitch provided that no mark is unreasonably close to the protected area.”
Haseeb Hameed’s guard making stirred quite a debate in the commentary box and on social media as well. However, in Hameed’s case the on-field umpires didn’t think he was breaking any rule and hence he was not given any warning.
Talking about his performance, Haseeb was dismissed quickly by Jasprit Bumrah for 0. England is currently 53 for 3 after reducing India to 191 all out.
