Here are some of the peculiar and bizarre rules of cricket you might not be aware of.

Cricket is popularly known as the gentleman’s game and is played following the same spirit. The sport had certain rare incidents that might have resulted in the creation of the most peculiar and outrageous rules, some of which sound illogical. Here is a list of weird some bizarre rules of cricket that you may not be aware of.

1. Rule of appeal withdrawal

This rule in cricket is quite bizarre and yet very fascinating. As per law 31.8 of cricket, the fielding team’s captain has the liberty of withdrawing an appeal following consent from the umpire’s end, who has offered the decision of dismissing the batsman. This rule implies that a batsman who has been declared out by the umpires can continue batting after the captain receives confirmation from the umpire to withdraw the appeal. An instance of this event was witnessed when England was playing against India in 2011, and Ian Bell was declared out on the grounds of what seemed like a boundary. However, the replays revealed that the ball seemed to have touched the rope and rolled back to the pavilion. Thus, MS Dhoni, the captain of the Indian team, recalled Ian after withdrawing his appeal.

2. The three-minute rule

According to law 40 of cricket, after a batsman is declared out, the incoming batsman needs to be prepared to begin playing within three minutes. Failing to do this, the incoming batsman will be declared out.

3. Rule of fake fielding

This rule asserts that if a fielder fails to grasp the ball, but his actions leave an impression of him catching the ball, subsequently intercepting the batsman from scoring further runs, it is termed as fake fielding.  However, the team that is fielding can suffer a penalty of five runs for such an action.

4. Dead ball

During a cricket match if the ball knocks the floating spider cam over the cricket ground, then it is referred to as a dead ball. Similarly, balls knocking the roofs of covered stadiums like Australia’s Docklands stadium are considered to be a dead ball too. In such a situation, even if the batsman scores a six, it is referred to as a dead ball.

5. Mankading rule

Mankading is a technique of run out that is named after Vinoo Mankad, a celebrated Indian bowler. In this method, the bowler dismisses the non-striker when the latter is out of the bowling crease and the former hits the bails prior to bowling. This rule vividly suggests that the runner needs to be within the crease before the bowling has been initiated by the bowler.

So, which rule is the most peculiar in your opinion?