The MCC issued an explanation regarding the Hit-Wicket incident during Kent vs Somerset County Championship match. The MCC has issued an explanation regarding the Hit-Wicket incident that occurred during the Kent vs Somerset County Championship match.
Somerset’s Lewis Goldsworthy was at the center of an amazing moment. When his bat shattered while attempting a shot against Jaskaran Singh and went on to hit the stumps in a 2023 County Championship match between Kent and Somerset on September 22. Following then, a sequence of events rocked the cricketing world.
At the time of this strange happened. Goldsworthy was on 79 runs when Jaskaran launched a powerful yorker, exactly targeting the off-stump line. Goldsworthy’s bat suffered a savage battering in his attempt to parry the blistering delivery. Breaking into fragments upon collision with the rocketing delivery.
The broken chunk of Goldsworthy’s bat ricocheted backward and crashed into the stumps, much to everyone’s surprise. The batter was disheartened, fearing a ‘Hit Wicket’ dismissal, which is extremely rare.
However, the drama did not finish there as the on-field umpire signaled a no ball, much to Goldsworthy’s relief. What’s the reason? Jaskaran had overstepped, making the delivery unlawful under cricket rules. The MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), the curator of cricket’s laws, has since clarified the incredible Goldsworthy “Hit Wicket” incident, citing strong support from the cricketing rulebook.
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What did MCC have to say regarding the incident?
The MCC explained that Law 35.2 (Hit wicket) states that “the striker is not out under this Law… [if] the delivery is a No ball.” As a result, Goldsworthy’s survival was in compliance with the rules of the game.
But what if it was a genuine delivery? Goldsworthy would have faced the humiliation of dismissal in that circumstance. “The striker is out Hit wicket if, after the bowler has entered the delivery stride and while the ball is in play, his/her wicket is broken by either the striker’s bat or a person as defined in Laws 29.2.1.2 to 29.2.1.4 (Breaking the wicket fairly) in any of the following circumstances:
35.1.1.1 while any action performed by him/her in preparing for or receiving a delivery.”
Reading the aforementioned paragraph in conjunction with Law 29.2.1.3, which states that the wicket can be fairly shattered, clarifies the legal situation:
“29.2.1.3 for the sole purpose of this law, by the striker’s bat that is not in hand, or by any part of the bat that has become detached.”
This legislation, crucially, encompasses any unattached parts of the bat, as well as any other equipment or apparel worn by the striker. Notably, the striker’s helmet or any part of the helmet that becomes detached is the only exception to this regulation. This provision was created in 2022 to answer certain batters’ worries about helmets with neck guards potentially dislodging and hitting the wicket.
In the end, Goldsworthy not only avoided a bullet but also went on to score his first century of the season, guaranteeing that this amazing episode will be eternally carved in cricketing history.
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