Perth Scorchers batter Cooper Connolly hit the ball onto the roof of the Marvel Stadium during the Big Bash League (BBL 2024-25) match against the Melbourne Renegades. Cooper Connolly sent the ball straight over the pitch off Kane Richardson’s bowling, but the umpire declared it a dead ball.
The Melbourne Renegades won the toss and chose to bowl at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Monday, December 23. The Scorchers took until the 11th ball of the innings to score a run in the powerplay. Finn Allen (0 off 3) and Keaton Jennings (9 off 12) were among the early batters to fall.
Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis nearly hit the roof but was caught by Jake Fraser-McGurk on the boundary. Inglis was dismissed cheaply off Will Sutherland, leaving the Scorchers at 3-28 after seven overs. The team’s batting situation worsened as they collapsed to 35/4 in 8.1 overs during the innings.
Cooper Connolly Hits Ball Onto Roof, But No Run Awarded
As the Scorchers tried to recover from a poor start, Cooper Connolly’s mis-hit slog went straight up and hit the roof in the 10th over. The bowler, Kane Richardson, attempted a one-handed catch. According to the rules, if a fielder catches the ball with one hand after it hits the roof, the batter will be out.
Richardson failed to hold onto the one-handed catch attempt and injured himself in the process. He was assessed by the physios, and the umpires declared the delivery a dead ball.
Earlier, the batting team was awarded six runs when the ball hit the roof, but the umpires now have the authority to decide the outcome of the delivery based on where the ball made contact.
Have a look at the incident right here:
That one hit the roof 👀#BBL14 pic.twitter.com/1LZqOtIHTs
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 23, 2024
BBL Scraps Automatic Six Rule for Roof Contact in 2023
The roof at Marvel Stadium has caused issues for both batters and fielders in the BBL, as balls intended for sixes sometimes land inside the boundary. In other cases, simple catches are spoiled when the ball hits the roof.
To address this, Cricket Australia has changed the rules for the 2023-24 season. Under the new rule, batters will no longer automatically receive six runs for hitting the roof. If umpires believe it would have cleared the boundary, six runs will be awarded; if not, the delivery will be ruled a dead ball.
“Batters will no longer be automatically awarded six runs for hitting the Marvel Stadium roof under changes to Cricket Australia’s playing conditions for the 2023-24 season,” a statement from BBL read (via cricket.com.au).
The new rule that will be in place for KFC BBL|13 beginning on December 7 will put it at the umpires’ discretion to determine if the ball was going to clear the boundary. If they decide it was, they will award the batter six runs. If not, it will be ruled a dead ball,” the statement continued.
Also read: Rohit Sharma picked as No. 1 T20I batter of 2024
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