A 24-yard ball means an unconventional delivery in cricket, a bowler balls to deceive the batsman behind the popping crease. It is similar to the unorthodox bowling style of Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah, which reduces the ball’s trajectory and causes discomfort to the batters. The only difference is the longer route being taken by the ball after its release with the main target of causing challenges for a batsman to face a delivery.
Recently, the Scotland left-arm spinner Mark Watt’s 24-yard ball in the 3-match T20I series against Australia sparked the controversy to a peak level in the cricketing world. However, you need to know that this isn’t the first time Mark has bowled such deliveries in his career and other bowlers have attempted these types of actions in the past. As a result, a new heated debate once again proves that cricket is one such sport filled with huge gray areas and the new versions of it are hyped up with every successive year.
Let’s delve deeper to find out what exactly happened during Scotland vs Australia 1st T20I match to decide if Mark Watt has done something wrong against the cricketing laws or not.
Why has Mark Watt’s 24-yard delivery created controversy? SCO vs AUS 1st T20I Match Important Highlights
The on-field umpire declared Mark Watt’s 24-yard delivery against Josh Inglis as a dead ball during the first T20I match between Scotland and Australia, despite the ball hitting the stumps, thereby leading to huge controversy.
Mark Watt managed to take the crucial wickets of the Australian opening batter Travis Head and captain Mitchell Marsh. But, it was too late as the duo combination with an aggressive approach helped the team chase down the target of 155 runs in just 9.4 overs. Head’s 25-ball-80 runs (including 12 fours and 5 sixes) and Marsh’s 12-ball-39 runs (including 5 fours and 3 sixes) helped Australia achieve their highest powerplay score of 113 runs in T20Is.
Even the Aussie wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis was supposed to be dismissed for a golden duck by falling to the trap of Mark Watt, who as usual bowled a 24-yard delivery behind the crease and hit the stumps. But, Josh pulled himself out at the last minute which resulted in the umpires calling it a dead ball.
Once again Mark bowled a similar delivery to Marcus Stoinis, who opted to pull himself out similar to his teammate Inglis, causing the umpires to deem it to be a no-ball.
Did Mark Watt Bowl the 24-yard Ball for the first time in his career against Australia?
NO! Mark Watt has attempted the 24-yard ball several times in his career. For instance, during the T20 World Cup 2024, Mark executed the same trick against Oman in the group stages of the tournament. Moreover, he bowled it on a back-to-back basis by managing to dismiss the batsman in the second attempt. Unfortunately, the on-field umpire declared it as a no-ball.
What does the Law State about the 24-yard Ball?
According to the Law, the Umpire should signal a ball as dead if the batsman at the striker’s end isn’t ready to face the ball. If the umpire is satisfied that the striker had a valid reason for not attempting the ball, the MCC Law 20.4.2.5 explains that the ball shouldn’t be counted as a legal delivery in that over.
Also, MCC Law 20.4 states that an umpire can signal a dead ball when the striker gets distracted by the noise or movement of the ball or any other object. In such cases, Mark Watt released the ball from several yards behind the crease, which could be considered as one type of distraction and so it was deemed to be called a dead ball.
Is Mark Watt the Only Bowler to Bowl a 24-yard Delivery in Cricket?
No! You need to know that Mark Watt isn’t the first or last bowler to try out such longer deliveries.
The former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has bowled medium-fast bowling countless times behind the crease during his cricketing career. Similarly, the Indian fast bowler Bhuvenshwar Kumar in an ODI clash against Australia in 2019, bowled behind the crease at a longer distance to dismiss Aaron Finch. Even on that occasion, the match umpires adjudged it as a dead ball since Finch pulled out himself at the last moment by analyzing that the ball’s trajectory was unpredictable and unusual.
In the Asian Games 2023, Nepal’s pace-bowling all-rounder Karan KC executed the same action by bowling behind the stumps against the Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. But the delivery was claimed to be as valid, rather than dead since Jaiswal didn’t pull out and faced the ball.
Conclusion:
Bowlers try to bowl unique types of deliveries predicting that the batsman has become ready to play reverse sweep or unorthodox shots. In such cases, Mark Watt has tried to bowl a 24-yard delivery against Josh Inglis hoping for him to play unconventional shots, but wouldn’t have expected to pull out himself. This resulted in the umpires declaring it as a dead ball, which is a common issue faced by many bowlers in recent times
