What happens in cricket when a ball sails over the boundary rope without touching the ground? Easy, right? The umpire raises both arms and signals a six. But what if the ball has not even touched the bat? In fact, what if it’s a bouncer that sails over the batter’s head, beats the keeper and flies over the ropes? Unimaginable, right?
But it happened. Ali Khan, the Pakistan-born US international, produced the bizarre delivery in the Canada Super60. With Kieron Pollard at the crease, Ali Khan bowled a bouncer that flew over the batter and the wicketkeeper before landing directly beyond the rope. A casual observer would think it should be called a wide and a six, but the umpire signalled a wide and awarded four runs instead.
This incident occurred on the third delivery of the ninth over during the semi-final between Toronto Sixers and Mississauga Masters. Khan dug the ball in short, and it took off from the pitch. It kept rising, leaving both batter and keeper bemused. Even the commentators were taken aback by the signal after the delivery. However, there was no mistake on the part of the umpire. It was one of those rare instances in cricket where the ball had physically travelled far enough to clear the boundary for a six, but the laws did not allow it to be awarded as one.
Why were only five runs awarded?
The biggest factor behind the decision was that Pollard never touched the ball. Under the laws of cricket, a six can only be awarded when the ball has been struck by the bat and goes over the boundary without touching the ground. In this case, the ball simply went over the rope without making contact with the bat. That meant the laws allowed only four runs for the boundary, not a six. Hence, Toronto were awarded five runs in total on that delivery, four for the boundary and one for the wide.
It might appear odd to a casual viewer because the ball landed exactly where it needed to for a six. Had Pollard got even a slight edge on the ball, and it landed in the same spot, it would have been given as a six. However, because there was no bat involved, Toronto got one run fewer.
The delivery also summed up a tough day at the office for Khan. He bowled his quota of two overs in the match, conceding 43 runs while picking up two wickets. Toronto put on a powerful batting display, posting 130/4 in their allotted 10 overs.
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Pollard played a destructive knock and was one of the main reasons Toronto reached that imposing total. He scored 40 runs off just 16 deliveries, smashing three fours and four sixes in an innings filled with brutal aggression. Mississauga went about the target with plenty of intent and came close to pulling off the chase. Alex Lees led their batting effort, smashing 39 runs off just 11 deliveries, but they eventually finished on 121/7, 10 runs short of the target. With a nine-run win, Toronto booked their place in the final of the Canada Super60.
The match offered the spectators their fair share of entertainment. A total of 251 runs were scored across 20 overs.