Mark Waugh has called on the BBL to consider changing one key rule after the Stars were gifted 12 runs in a tight Melbourne derby against the Renegades on Saturday night.
The Stars needed every run they could get, chasing 163 as they desperately looked to lift themselves up from the bottom of the ladder and back towards finals contention.
Fortunately for David Hussey’s side, they benefited directly from a controversial rule which awards a six for players hitting the roof.
Both Joe Clarke and Beau Webster did just that on Saturday night, with Renegades skipper Aaron Finch telling the Fox Cricket commentary team midgame that the duo would have been dismissed if not for the roof.
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“That would have been two simple catches tonight,” a mic’d up Finch said.
“They were both straight up. That would have been out, that’s out (the second catch).”
Unfortunately for Finch he was the one to blame as Mark Howard pointed out in commentary, telling him: “This is your rule skipper (to Finch), you’ve caused this problem”.
Howard was referencing the incident in BBL2 where Finch was robbed of a certain six after hitting a retractable part of the roof at Etihad Stadium, now known as Marvel Stadium.
The rule was subsequently changed to deem that an automatic six be awarded should the roof be struck, something which Waugh believes needs to be changed.
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“It’s cost them 12 runs which is wrong,” Fox Cricket’s Waugh said.
“It’s just not going for six. At the minimum it should be a dead ball. Twelve runs is a big difference in this game – let alone the fact they would have been out. Can’t do much about that but there’s no way it should be an automatic six.
“They’ve got to have a look at that rule. It’s not right the way that rule sits at the moment.”
When expanding on those comments post-game, Waugh said he thinks it should be up to the umpire’s discretion.
“If it looks like it’s not going anywhere near a six, it shouldn’t be a six,” Waugh said.
“It should be a dead ball. I think it’s ridiculous. If you hit it straight up and it should have been out, then you get a six as a reward. I think it needs to change.”
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The Renegades were particularly unlucky to not have dismissed Clarke sooner, with the Stars import blasting a quickfire half-century after his lucky break.
“It would have been a catching chance for Jono Wells at mid-wicket – instead it’s gone for six,” Waugh said in commentary at the time.
“It was straight to him. If you’re going to give six for that, there’s gotta be something for the fielding team. That shouldn’t be six. That wasn’t going for six.
“It’s a bit one-sided that rule.”
Renegades young gun Will Sutherland said post-game he would like to see the rule change, admitting he let out a “few expletives” because of it.
“They had two go their way so I would have to say definitely not,” he said.
“I let out a few expletives after they got a few into the roof. But they’re the rules and they work for both sides but I do hope they change it.”
Teammate Kane Richardson was not too concerned, declaring: “If you’re good enough to hit it, I guess fair play” but added it was “a bit of luck” that went the Stars’ way.
Ashton Turner, meanwhile, was on the right side of the rule back in 2018 when he was awarded a six for hitting the roof at Marvel Stadium but even he at the time admitted it was a “pretty bad rule”.
“It saved me tonight … I think it’s not fair,” he told cricket.com.au.
“It should be a dead ball – you can’t predict whether they’re going to catch it, so there’s no fairer outcome than a dead ball.
“It’s a little bit different if you think it might have hit the roof over the boundary rope (but) it might be hard to detect where it’s actually (going to land) and if it’s going to go for six.”
Fortunately for the Stars the rule did not cost them on Saturday, although that did not stop the cricket world from debating its merit on social media.
