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7 Times the Batsman was given out for 'obstructing the field'

Of the various ways in which a batsman can be adjudged out, there are four that are very rarely seen in actual play – handling the ball, being timed out, hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field.The last one was something England’s Ben Stokes discovered to his pain on Saturday in the ODI against Australia, and Adnan Akmal had a similar experience with during a domestic T20 match in Pakistan on Wednesday.There have been only six previous instances of batsmen falling to ‘obstructing the field’ in international cricket, and the coincidence of two instances of this making news in the same week has thrown the world into debate – whether Stokes was unjustly sent back, whether the law really means what it suggests, whether the spirit of the game should be invoked, and so on.The only 7 times this form of dismissal was seen in international cricket:  

#7 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes lies on the ground after avoiding a throw from Mitchell Starc

The ongoing second One-Day International between hosts England and Australia was engulfed in controversy as all-rounder Ben Stokes was given out obstructing the field. 

The 24-year-old appeared to be protecting himself more than anything else when he stuck his hand out as bowler Mitchell Starc threw the ball back at the stumps after Stokes had hit Mitchell Starc’s fast and full inswinging delivery straight back to the bowler.

The Australian team, however, decided to appeal suggesting that Stokes was out of the crease and had intentionally struck out his hand. On-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson decided to hand over the final call to the third umpire, Joe Wilson, who ruled in the favour of the reigning world champions, much to the displeasure of the Lord's crowd who responded with loud boos.

Captain Eoin Morgan was seen having a long discussion on the rules of the game with the umpire even after Stokes was gone.

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