On Day 1 of the India-England fourth Test at The Oval, India captain Virat Kohli was not pleased with England opener Haseeb Hameed, who marked his guard outside the popping crease. Kohli was seen complaining to the on-field umpires and having a lengthy conversation with Richard Illingworth, informing the umpire of his concerns about Hameed’s security detail.
It happened at the start of England’s innings, when Hameed marked his guard outside the popping crease and scuffed up the area with his spikes. While marking guard with spikes, the side of the shoe, or even the bat and bails is common at the start of an innings, Kohli was irritated by Hameed’s failure to do so inside the crease.
The England opener’s guard marking sparked a heated debate in the commentary box, with Harsha Bhogle and Ajay Jadeja each offering their own take on the situation.
A batsman can mark his guard or take his stance without entering the danger or protected area, according to the rules. The danger zone is defined as a five-foot radius around the popping crease.
“The striker shall not adopt a stance in the protected area or so close to it that frequent encroachment is inevitable,” according to MCC rule 41.15.1.
“On the pitch, the striker may mark a guard as long as no mark is unreasonably close to the protected area.”
However, in Hameed’s case, the umpires did not believe he was invading the danger zone and thus did not issue a warning.
Rishabh Pant, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman, was asked not to stand too far down the pitch by the umpires because they thought he was stepping on the danger zone.
Jasprit Bumrah quickly dismissed Hameed by getting one to bounce off a length and find the outside of the England opener’s bat.
On Day 1 of the 4th Test, India fast bowlers Jaspit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav brought their teams back into the game by dismissing openers Rory Burns, Haseeb, and captain Joe Root. England finished the day at 53/3 after bowling India out for 195.
