MCC tightens airborne boundary catch rules

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of cricket’s laws, has introduced a significant change to the rules regarding boundary catches and six-saving efforts, which will soon no longer allow multiple mid-air touches outside the boundary line.

This rule, long considered controversial, will be updated to ensure fairer play and to address the growing debate about extraordinary but seemingly unnatural fielding manoeuvres.

Currently, fielders often use a tactical move near the boundary when losing balance—they throw the ball up mid-air, step outside the boundary, jump again while airborne to push the ball back inside, and then complete the catch or prevent a six.

In some instances, fielders have touched the ball multiple times in the air while positioned outside the boundary rope.

Under the new MCC rule, which is expected to come into effect in the ICC’s playing conditions later this month and formally included in MCC’s law book in October next year, a fielder can now legally touch the ball only once while airborne outside the boundary. After that, they must re-enter the field of play to complete the catch.

This change was prompted by recent debates, particularly following a 2023 Big Bash League match where Brisbane Heat‍‍`s Michael Neser made a remarkable yet contentious boundary catch against Sydney Sixers. Neser touched the ball twice while airborne outside the boundary before completing the catch inside the field. While previously deemed legal, such catches will now be considered invalid.

The MCC’s update follows the ICC Cricket Committee’s request earlier this year to review the existing law. The MCC noted that although the current rule allowed "extraordinary" fielding, it also gave rise to catches that most cricket observers felt were against the spirit of the game.

Relay catches, involving multiple fielders, will also follow this new boundary rule: if one fielder touches the ball outside the boundary, they must return inside the field before their teammate can complete the catch.

The updated playing conditions will come into effect with the start of the new World Test Championship cycle, beginning with the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Test in Galle on June 17. The formal inclusion in the MCC law book will take place in October 2025.