In a major development, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has come up with an update in regards to the boundary line catches and also make the ‘bunny hop’ illegal in cricket. The updated law will be integrated into the MCC’s laws in October 2026 but into the ICC playing conditions this month. The rule change by the MCC comes in response to the catches that look unfair for cricket audiences.
According to the new law, the catch will be deemed fair only if the fielder, who is airborne, touches the ball once outside the boundary line, and need to return inside the field of play to complete the catch.
To make it easy for the readers, if the fielder’s first touch takes them outside the boundary, their ‘second’ touch must take them back inside the field of play. It means that a fielder will no longer to allowed to keep throwing the ball to yourself outside the boundary for long as they like.
According to an MCC note circulated to member boards by the ICC, while the existing law “led to some spectacular” fielding efforts, it also allowed “some unusual-looking catches that, to the majority of the cricketing public, feel unfair”.
What is a bunny hop catch? Explained
‘Bunny Hop’ catch is that type of catch where a fielder makes contact with the ball inside the boundary line but upon realising that his/her momentum is taking the player outside the boundary line, the player throws the ball into the air. While being outside the boundary line, the fielder then jumps and throws the ball once again into the air so that it falls inside the field of play. The fielder then returns back inside the boundary line to complete the catch.
Michael Neser’s spectacular catch during Big Bash League (BBL) 2023 is a perfect example of a Bunny Hop catch. While the act complied with the law at the time, the MCC note added it “felt like the fielder had – quite literally – gone too far.
“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,” the note said.
“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.”
When the new rule come into effect?
The revised rule will be enforced starting June 17, when the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle begins with Sri Lanka taking on Bangladesh in Galle. The change in the laws will officially take effect from October 2026.
