He was adjudged Player of the Match for scoring 130 runs.
Marnus Labuschagne has begun the new summer on a high, scoring a 92-ball hundred for Queensland on their campaign opener of the Australia one-day cup against Victoria on Wednesday (September 17). With this century, Labuschagne has bolstered his quest to return to Australia’s Test setup, but it doesn’t come without a piece of spice that created a controversy.
The drama unfolded in the 23rd over when he inadvertently got in the way of a run-out opportunity after Marnus Labuschagne defended the ball right below his head to a good length delivery from pacer Harry Dixon. Unaware of the non-striker Matthew Renshaw’s place, he kept looking at the ball till it lay stationary just in front of him. Labuschagne then used his bat to retrieve the ball, but Renshaw had already ran half of the pitch in pursuit of a quick single, with bowler almost reaching the ball, which Labsuchagne was retrieving. By the time Dixon picked the ball and turned to throw it towards the stumps, Renshaw sprinted back to the bowler’s end.
He could then be seen throwing his hands towards the sky in frustration, highlighting Labuschagne’s interference during the run-out opportunity. The match officials Donovan Koch and Riki Wessels had a brief discussion in the middle and ended up giving decisions in the batter’s favour. Marnus Labuschagne capitalised on the opportunity and went on to play a crucial role in Queensland’s emphatic 55-run win. His 130 knock off 118 balls was laced with 17 fours and a six.
Watch the incident below.
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As per the sections 37.1.1 and 37.1.2 of the Laws of the Game, “Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, and while the ball is in play, he/she wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.”
“The striker is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defence of his/her wicket.”
Law 37.2 states that the striker may be ruled not out if the obstruction is made in order to avoid injury, or to guard their wicket lawfully. In this case, Labuschagne did not willfully obstruct or distract the fielding unknowingly as he was unaware about his partner’s attempt to steal a quick single.
In Labuschagne’s case of dismissal, which largely relates to Law 37.4 states, “Either batter is out obstructing the field if, if the ball is in play and a batter uses the bat or any part of the body or any equipment to return the ball to any fielder without the consent of a fielder.”
Labuschagne touched the ball unknowingly with the bat, but it wasn’t imminent danger to his stumps. However, umpires perhaps ignored the rule of the 31-year-old out on these grounds as he didn’t complete the action of returning the ball without consent.
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