Why the 'fake fielding' law is relevant

Queensland's Marnus Labuschagne became the first player to be penalised under the "fake fielding" law, which was recently incorporated by the ICC into its playing conditions.

Attempting to intercept a drive from Cricket Australia XI batsman Param Uppal in the JLT Cup, Labuschagne, fielding at cover, dived to his right, stood up and mocked a throw as the ball had passed him. Uppal stopped in his stride, hesitated for a moment, but eventually finished the run. The umpires consequently awarded five runs to CA XI for violating Law 41.5, which deals with "deliberate distraction, deception or obstruction of a batsman".

According to the lawmaker, these actions are against the spirit of cricket. But is mock fielding, which has the same five-run penalty as ball tampering, a severe violation?

What exactly prompted the MCC, custodians of the laws, to determine mock fielding as an indiscretion? Also is distraction, deception or an obstruction easy to interpret for the on-field umpires? Fraser Stewart, MCC's Laws of Cricket manager, reveals the details around Law 41.5.

****

Why was the "fake fielding" law introduced?

Stewart: The reason for the introduction of this law was that fielders were deliberately pretending to have the ball as a means of fooling the batsmen, thereby preventing them from taking further runs. The batsmen would see a slide and a feigned throw and would decline, for example, a second run. By the time they realised the ball had not been thrown, it would then be too late to take the second run. This was felt to be unfair. It was becoming an increasingly used practice at various levels of the game. It formed one of the questions in MCC's global consultation and the response was overwhelmingly in favour of introducing a law to ban the practice.

So Labuschagne was clearly guilty of Law 41.5?

[color=rgb(72, 73, 74)]There are wicketkeepers who collect the ball down the leg side, turn around pretending they have missed the ball, and run a batsman out after he sets off for a single. Does that count as deception?[/color]
[/size][/color][color=rgb(72, 73, 74)]Stewart: If a wicketkeeper is deliberately trying to make it look like he has missed the ball when he has it in his hands for a stumping, it is an attempt to deceive the batsman and would fall foul of the law. It is for the umpires on the field to decide if it is deception or not as per Law 41.5.2.[/color]
[/size][/color][color=rgb(72, 73, 74)]While collecting throws, the Indian wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, for example, pretends like there is nothing happening to lull the running batsman into a false sense of security before whipping the bails off quickly when the throw comes in. Is that a foul act, too?[/color]
[/size][/color][color=rgb(72, 73, 74)]Stewart: If Dhoni is deliberately trying to make it look like he has missed the ball when he has it in his hands for a stumping, it is an attempt to deceive the batsman and would fall foul of the law. However, transferring it onto the stumps in a subtle way after receiving the ball would be acceptable. It is for the umpires on the field to decide if it is deception or not.[/color]

we have all done that over the years.

silly to outlaw it

Batsman must keep EYES on ball at ALL times

not just before him stroke 

fake fielding law!!!! : : :

interesting!  ::LOL:: ::LOL:: ::LOL:: ::LOL:: ::LOL:: ::LOL::