Obstructing the field

rdf:langString Obstructing the field

rdf:langString Obstructing the field is one of the ten methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is Law 37 of the Laws of cricket, and is a rare way for a batsman to be dismissed; in the history of cricket, there has been only one instance in Test matches, six occasions in One Day International (ODI) games, and only one instance in Twenty20 International matches. There have also been seven instances in Test cricket, and two in ODIs, where a batsman has been dismissed handled the ball, a mode of dismissal now folded into obstructing the field. One modern pattern of obstruction in limited overs cricket occurs when a batsman thinks that he is going to be run out and blocks the ball with his bat, or changes his course while running between wickets to block the ball. The obstruction has to be deliberate. The only time a batsman has been dismissed obstructing the field in a Test match was during the South African cricket team's tour of England in 1951 when, in the fifth Test, England's Len Hutton top edged the ball and, thinking the ball would hit the stumps, attempted to hit the ball away, thereby preventing the wicket-keeper from catching the ball.