ICC set to revise boundary catch rule

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to introduce a new boundary catching rule to make ‘bunny hop’ catches illegal.

The ‘bunny hop’ catches were taken by Michael Neser, Tom Banton, and Matt Renshaw in different editions of the Big Bash League (BBL).

The catch, made illegal, saw Neser catching the ball with both hands; however, his momentum took him over the rope during the BBL 2023.

The Australian cricketer tossed the ball mid-air while airborne, landed beyond the boundary, leapt again, and batted the ball back into the field with both feet off the ground, then re-entered the playing area to complete the catch.

Tom Banton and Matt Renshaw completed similar catches during the BBL.

However, under the new rule being added to the ICC Playing Conditions this month—and later to the MCC’s Laws of Cricket in October 2026—an airborne fielder will be allowed to make contact with the ball only once while outside the boundary and must return to the field of play for the catch to be considered valid.

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The new ICC rule will no longer allow fielders to ‘bunny hop’ to take a catch at the boundary line.

The tweak in the MCC law came months after the ICC Cricket Committee asked the body to review boundary catching playing conditions.

In a note sent to member boards of the ICC, MCC maintained that while the existing rule had “led to some spectacular” fielding, it had also created room for “some unusual-looking catches that, to the majority of the cricketing public, feel unfair.”