Pakistan and Yorkshire batter Shan Masood survived a hit wicket and a run out, due to a interesting law in the MCC cricket rulebook. The bizarre incident occurred during Yorkshire’s Vitality Blast match against Lancashire. The league shared footage of the unusual occurrence on X, leaving fans in splits on Friday, June 21.
In the 15th over, Masood was batting when he hit the wickets while attempting a scoop shot. However, the delivery was ruled a no-ball, so Masood was not out. Responding to a call for a run from Joe Root, Masood stepped out of his crease, but then hesitantly took only a couple of steps before being run out and the opposition celebrated his dismissal.
To everyone’s surprise, Masood was declared not out by the umpires. Here’s the video.
The umpire ruled Masood not out for two reasons. First, the hit wicket was disallowed because the bowler had delivered a no-ball. Second, the run-out was overturned as the umpire believed Masood was not attempting to steal a run, but rather thought he has been hit wicket.
If the umpire determines that a batter, who has not been given out, has mistakenly left the wicket believing he was out, the umpire shall intervene. The umpire shall then call and signal “Dead ball” to stop any further action by the fielding team, and shall recall the batter.
After the match, Masood acknowledged that he was briefly stunned following the incident where he was struck on the grill. Masood expressed gratitude to the umpires and rival players for promptly moving past the event.
“When I tried to play the shot, the ball struck on my grill. I stood my ground for medical attention. I was confused as Rooty (Joe Root) started running, and I ran as well. My main concern was being hit. Was it a dead ball ? Do we call the physio? That’s my memory of the incident,” said Masood after the game.
“Rooty told me that it was a no-ball. That’s all I can recall from that moment. We then waited for the umpires to make their decision. Once they ruled in our favor everyone moved on and the match continued,” he added.
