VERY RARE WAY TO GET OUT

From Mike Owen, South Kelsey CC

A topic for your website, if you so wish, could be an incident in the final game of the season at Lysaght's yesterday. South Kelsey 2nds were playing Hykeham 2nds. South Kelsey batted first and wickets began falling at regular intervals. Andy Walton, our experienced player in a young team, came to the wicket and had just begun to hit some of his trademark off-drives.
One ball then came off his pads and rose up in the air, dropping towards his stumps. He instinctively pushed the ball away with his hand.
Instead of the usual appeal, players looked at one another, looked across at me as the stand-in square-leg umpire, and someone muttered: "Can he do that?"
It was then realised that it could be against the Laws of the game and the bowler belatedly appealed.
Gordon Turner, the umpire, then gave Andy out Handled the Ball.
Ann, our scorer, was most confused and in an interval of the game had to clarify the method of dismissal. The wicket does not apparently go to the bowler, which seems a trifle unfair!
I believe, a few years ago, Graham Gooch, playing in a Test match, was dismissed exactly the same way.

NF adds: Full marks to Gordon, one of the Grimsby area's most senior umpires. Law 33 states: "Either batsman is out Handled the Ball if he wilfully touches the ball, while in play, with a hand, or hands, not holding the bat - unless he does so with the consent of the opposing side."


This was, indeed, a very rare mode of dismissal. Anyone remember another Handled the Ball in a Lincs League game?