Cricket: Neil Wagner's bizarre dismissal leads to rule change

New Zealand's Neil Wagner. Photosport

An influential cricket committee has proposed an alteration to the run out law - and a New Zealand batsman may have played a part in the change.

The International Cricket Council's cricket committee has recommended an aspect of the run out rule be changed.

During New Zealand's win over Bangladesh in Christchurch in January, batsman Neil Wagner was given run out when he had clearly gone past the stumps before they were broken.

However although Wagner had grounded his bat, at the moment the bails were taken off his entire body, and bat, were off the ground.

In October 2010 the MCC changed the law to rule that if a batsman, having made his ground, continued running further and lost any contact with the ground he would be considered out of his ground if the bails were broken.

At the time of the Christchurch incident, there was some bemusement on the part of both Wagner, and the Bangladeshi and New Zealand teams.

Now, however, the cricket committee, headed by former Indian great Anil Kumble and including a raft of former prominent players, and New Zealand Cricket's chief executive David White as the ICC representative, has recommended that once a batsman has grounded his bat correctly he will be safe, even if his bat and body are subsequently off the ground.

In Wagner's case, rather than drag his bat past the crease, as cricketers are taught from school age, he had plonked the bat in and then lifted it.

In another development at the two-day meeting, the rule which prevents teams referring on-field decisions to the third umpire in a test after two unsuccessful attempts, until after the first 80 overs of an innings have been completed, could be adjusted. The rule also applies to one unsuccessful call in an ODI.

The committee's proposal is that if an lbw decision comes back to the on-field umpire with a verdict of 'umpire's call' the review would not penalise the team seeking it.

And having the Decision Review System in T20 internationals has been mooted. Currently it only applies in tests and ODIs.

There are advocates for the system being introduced in the game's shortest format. One review would apply if it is successful. The ICC is keen on bringing the system in late this year.