New law allowing fielder movement in cricket revised

The laws of cricket have been revised to allow fielders to move when batsmen alter their position at the crease.

With players increasingly willing to employ 'switch hits' and pre-meditated reverse sweeps, fielders will now be permitted to counter such moves by moving before the ball has reached the batsman.

Marylebone Cricket Club, custodians of the laws of the game, cited an incident from 2014 when Australia's Steve Smith moved from slip to leg-slip to dismiss Pakistan's Fawad Alam as "intelligent fielding" in a one-dayer in Abu Dhabi.

Two previous laws would have deemed Smith's movement "unfair" and the Australian's actions would have resulted in a dead ball.

These have now been replaced by a single Law (41.7) governing movement by fielders other than the wicketkeeper.

Controversy erupted after the umpires allowed Smith's catch during the Australia and Pakistan match last year, until it transpired that the ICC had adapted the law to allow some fielder movement.

John Stephenson, MCC's head of cricket, said: "It is important that MCC continues to keep pace with the game's development, and that's why we have made these changes to the laws. 

"Steve Smith's excellent catch in Abu Dhabi last year illustrated that such skilful anticipation by a fielder should be within the laws of the game, and these changes now make that the case."