Fake fielding: a rule making a mockery of the game and fans

Up until today, I was convinced that it is the most useless thing that exists in this world. But then whilst watching the second ODI between India and Australia, I was reminded of this abomination of a rule called the “Fake Fielding Rule” which made me change my mind.  Mind you, this is a rule that absolutely no one cares about. Not the fans, not the players and not even the umpires. So why the hell does it exist in the first place?  Well, your guess is as good as mine. I’m still searching for the answer.

41.5.1 In addition to 41.4 (Deliberate attempt to distract striker), it is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball.

41.5.3 If either umpire considers that a fielder has caused or attempted to cause such a distraction, deception or obstruction, he/she shall immediately call and signal Dead ball and inform the other umpire of the reason for the call.  

41.5.4 Neither batsman shall be dismissed from that delivery.

- award 5 Penalty runs to the batting side.

- inform the captain of the fielding side of the reason for this action and as soon as practicable inform the captain of the batting side.

Alright. I guess that was pretty sound and clear, so why on earth were Kane Richardson and Rohit Sharma not penalized today? On the Richardson incident - perhaps there was a slight grey area to it, for he can always argue that he failed to collect the ball owing to taking the eye off it whilst sliding. But the Rohit Sharma incident, however, was as clear a violation of the law as there can be.

In case you missed the incident, this is what happened: After Marnus Labuschagne paddle-swept Kuldeep Yadav towards fine leg, Rohit, from god-knows-where, charged towards short fine-leg and “pretended” to collect and throw the ball towards the keeper, in an attempt to confuse the batsmen. 

But why? Was it because neither of the two umpires noticed it? If yes, then what were they doing not keeping an eye on what’s going on in the field? If they did notice, why did they choose not to penalize Rohit for his actions? If this is not “fake fielding”, then what is? If it’s too much for the on-field umpires to handle, then why not let the third umpire take care of it?

From the outset, the incident might seem funny and unimportant and you might even think “Ah, why the outrage. After all, it’s just fake fielding,” but it’s not. We just witnessed an ignorant player - who was also completely out of his mind - and two ignorant umpires make a mockery of a nonsensical and obnoxious rule, right in front of our eyes. 

Of course, MCC, the “custodians of the game”, will not give a toss about incidents like these. They would conveniently give it a pass, ignore it and give lectures about their elitist and purist views on how sledging and mankading ruin the game whilst sitting on their high horses. As was evident from their overreaction post the World Cup saga, there is no ‘proactive’ in their dictionary; it is always reactive.  

Which brings me to the most important question - why does this rule exist in the first place? The players don’t know about it, the umpires either don’t know about it or care about it, so why is it even a rule? Was it devised just because a genius sitting in an MCC gathering whilst sipping on his Earl Grey Tea said “You know what, Geoff? This whole concept of fielders ‘faking’ their throws seems to be affecting the spirit of the game. I think we need a rule to get rid of it” and 10 others agreed? Because, till date, no match has been affected by fake fielding, no batsman has been riled up by it and certainly, no captain has publicly spoken out against it. 

All these weren’t considered unfair. So, by this logic, shouldn’t fielders be allowed their gig? As a batsman, if you’re stupid enough to think that a fielder has the ball in his hand when he clearly doesn’t, then good luck negotiating the real challenge out in the middle with the bat in your hand.

The fake fielding incident in the Rajkot ODI is just the tip of the iceberg, for there are a lot of things rotten - especially in the rulebook - that are being turned a blind eye to. The umpires - just like the players - need to be held accountable and by letting this incident pass, the ICC have set a bad precedent. The enforcement of the fake fielding rule, in the first place, might have been stupid, but at the same time, once enforced, it’s criminal not to abide by it. At the end of the day, it’s we, the fans, who are being made a fool of. At least with the little black box, I always know what I’m going to get. With the ICC and MCC, however, it’s always a lottery.