• New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls became a victim of bizarre dismissal in the 3rd Test against England.

  • The unusual dismissal even forced the MCC to clarify cricket rules again.

ENG vs NZ [WATCH]: Henry Nicholls gets out in a bizarre fashion on Day 1 of the Headingley Test
Henry Nicholls gets out in an unusual way in 3rd Test (Screengrab: @Englandcricket)

New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls became a victim of poor fortune after getting out in arguably the most bizarre way on Day 1 of the ongoing third and final Test against England at Headingley in Leeds.

It all happened on the second ball of the 56th over of Black Caps’ first innings bowled by English spinner Jack Leach. The left-armer went for full delivery, and Nicholls came down the track to smash it wide of the bowler.

For a moment, it appeared the red leather would travel down the hill for a boundary, but nobody could have predicted what happened next. Nicholls’ drive came straight out of the sweet spot, with Daryl Mitchell at the non-striker’s end didn’t have enough time to react and get out of the way.

The ball hit the middle of Mitchell’s flailing bat as he attempted to pull it out of the way and lobbed over umpire Richard Kettleborough before going straight into Alex Lees’ hands at mid-off. The dismissal was so strange in nature that spinner Leach seemed to have no idea about it.

Nasser Hussain, who was on air at the time of dismissal, could not believe it either as he exclaimed: “How has it got there?!”.

“Mitchell’s at the non-striker’s end, he’s trying to get his bat out of the way, the umpire’s trying to get out of the way… and Mitchell’s middled it straight to mid-off. I cannot believe that; I really can’t,” added the former England captain.

Here is the video:

The unreal form of dismissal even forced the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), known as the guardian of the Laws of the game, to clarify on social media that Nicholls’ wicket was completely within the laws of the game.

“An unfortunate dismissal? Yes. But wholly within the Laws. Law 33.2.2.3 states it will be out if a fielder catches the ball after it has touched the wicket, an umpire, another fielder, a runner or the other batter,” tweeted MCC.

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AKSHAT GAUR
Akshat is the Sr. Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, Akshat has honed his skills over 6 years, working with various media outlets, publications, and organizations to deliver high-quality content that informs, educates, and entertains audiences. He is just another cricket fan who’s grown up watching the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Cricket runs in his veins. Cover drive is his favorite sight, and a ball meeting the middle of the bat is his favorite sound. You can write to him at akshat.gaur@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin.