The stunning catches we see at the boundary - with fielders flying over the rope and flipping the ball back inside to prevent a six or effect a dismissal - will no longer be legal under the newly-worded law set to become operational later this month.

As per the updated law by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which the ICC will integrate into its playing conditions this month and MCC will incorporate into its Laws in October 2026, a fielder who is in the air can only touch the ball once beyond the boundary and must return inside the field for the catch to be considered fair.

The "bunny hop" — touching the ball again with the palm while airborne outside the boundary but also landing outside — will no longer be legal.

During the BBL 2023, Michael Neser and Tom Banton combined to take a stunning catch with an assist from Matt Renshaw. Neser, playing for Brisbane Heat, chased a lofted drive from Sydney Sixers' Jordan Silk at wide long-off. He caught the ball with both hands, but his momentum carried him over the rope. In accordance with the existing Boundary Law, Neser tossed the ball up while airborne, landed outside the boundary, jumped again, and palmed the ball back into the field with both feet in the air before hopping back inside the playing area to complete the catch. Silk was ruled out and walked back shaking his head.

Such catches have become quite common across the world. However, ever since Silk's dismissal, the fairness of such catches has been widely debated, prompting strong calls to change the existing law, which was last updated in 2010.

As per Law 19.5.2, the fielder’s last contact with the ground before first touching the ball must be within the boundary (this part of the law will remain unchanged in the new iteration). Under the current rules, a fielder cannot touch the ball and the ground outside the boundary at the same time. If the fielder meets those criteria and completes the catch, the dismissal is deemed legal.

However, the ICC's Cricket Committee asked the MCC to review the law. Describing the Neser catch, the MCC noted that the Heat fielder "bunny hopped" before completing the catch "inside" the boundary. While it fulfilled the existing law, the note said it "felt like the fielder had — quite literally — gone too far."

In updating the law, the MCC stated that if a fielder goes outside the boundary and jumps up to make a subsequent contact with the ball, they must land within the field of play; otherwise, a boundary will be awarded. "Multiple touches" outside the boundary will no longer be allowed, as was the case when Neser caught Silk, the MCC clarified.

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