Top 5 instances where the Batsman was given out for handling the ball (Video)

During the 19th century, the bowlers considered handling the ball was as one of the unique tricks of dismissing the batsman in cricket. The rule states that the umpire would declare the batsman out if he is found touching the ball with his hand intentionally.

ICC made an exception in the year 1950 that the batsmen would remain not out if he touches the ball while trying to protect himself from the injury. This rule was later on integrated into the law of obstructing the field during the rearrangement of laws in 2017.

Only 10 batsmen have lost their wicket in this fashion in international cricket of which 7 instances have come in test cricket while 3 of them in the ODI format. South African player Russell Endean became the first victim of this rule during the 1957 Test match against England.

The first batsman to lose his wicket for handling the ball in first-class cricket was James Grundy who became a victim in the year 1857. Surprisingly, the batsman can even be declared out for returning the ball to a fielder. Charles Wright was the first player in first-class cricket to lose his wicket in this fashion.

The year 2017 saw ICC doing a major change in this law as they removed handling the ball from the ways of dismissal and merged it into the law of obstructing the field.

In the last few years, the no of batsmen losing their wicket due to handling the ball has reduced to a certain extent. The last batsman to get out in this fashion was Ben Stokes. This incident happened during the one-day international between England and Australia.

Here is the list of top 5 batsmen who have got out in this bizarre fashion.

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#1 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara

The fans label Cheteshwar Pujara, the right-handed batsman from Saurashtra, as the next Rahul Dravid of India due to his solid defence. Pujara has been the cornerstone of the Indian team in test cricket since last few years. Currently, he is one of the most dependable batsmen for India in the longest format.

Pujara became the victim of this law while playing for Derbyshire in the English County Championship. During the opening day of the 4-day match against Leicestershire, Pujara while trying to defend the ball lost his wicket in this unique way.

Cheteshwar Pujara became the first player to lose his wicket in this way in England since 1996. Earlier Karl Krikken was dismissed in the same manner while playing for Derbyshire on the same ground.

Here is the video of Pujara losing his wicket while trying to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps.

#2 Chamu Chibabha

Chamu Chibabha

Zimbabwe is one among the bottom-ranked teams in the ICC World rankings but it has a huge amount of talent in their side. Chamu Chibhabha is one such star player who has the potential to revive the Zimbabwean cricket. Chamu has so far scored 2286 runs in one-day internationals. He has proven his all-round worth for his team with his best bowling figures of 4/25 for Zimbabwe.

Chibhabha is also one such batsman who has been given out for handling the ball. While batting, he tried to place the ball, but the ball bounced back and would hit the stumps. Chibhabha tried to place his hand in the route of the ball to prevent it from hitting the stumps but the umpire ruled him out for handling the ball.

Chibhabha became the first Zimbabwean batsman to be given out in this way. Apart from this, he is also the only batsman to lose his wicket against Afghanistan in this fashion.

#3 Daryll Cullinan

Daryll Cullinan was the South African batsman who smashed a six into a pan of fried calamari

Daryll Cullinan is a former South African batsman who was involved in the unusual stoppage of the match. While playing a regional match, Cullinan smashed a ball for a six which ended up in the kitchen straight into a pan of fried calamari. It nearly took 10 minutes to dry the ball and even the bowler wasn’t able to grip it afterwards.

He played as a batsman for Africa in Tests and had an average of 44.21. But he also once lost his wicket for handling the ball. The South African became the second player in the one-day format to lose his wicket in such a terrific way.

The ball bounced back right to the stump as Cullinan played the shot. Trying to prevent his wicket, he took his right hand off the bat and caught it just to lose his wicket for handling the ball.

#4 Mohinder Amarnath

Mohinder Amarnath

Mohinder Amarnath at his peak was a class top order batsman who played at number 3 for India. Along with the bat, he was also a handy bowler with his swing-bowling skills. The Indian fans remember him for his unique run-up where he used to slow down as he reached the bowling crease.

Mohinder played the lead role for India in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was awarded as the 'Man of the Match' in both the semifinal match and the finals in that tournament which saw India winning their first World Cup. During his career, he was also one amongst the cricketers who lost his wicket due to handling the ball.

During the match between India and Australia, Mohinder Amarnath tried to defend the ball of G.R.J. Matthews but the ball bumped back into the stumps. Amarnath unknowingly hit the ball with his hand to prevent it from hitting the stumps but ended up losing his wicket.

#5 Steve Waugh

Steve was one-half of the Waugh brothers who played for Australia

Steve had innumerous records to his name. He was the most capped Test cricket player in the history with 168 appearances before Sachin broke his record. He was also awarded the Australian of the Year in 2004 and was also inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in January 2010.

On March 19, 2001, Steve Waugh entered the elite list of cricketers losing their wicket for handling the ball. He became the 6th batsman to lose his wicket handling the ball in test cricket history. While attempting a sweep shot on Harbhajan’s off-spin, Steve failed to connect the ball and ball kept on rolling into the stumps. However, he tried to throw the ball away from the stumps with his hands and lost his wicket in a funny way.