With all the discussion and debate over the wide call by Richard Kettleborough on Thursday night that enabled Virat Kohli's 48th ODI hundred, it now appears that the call was a legitimate one.
As cricket evolves and makes itself relevant for the modern times, the MCC Laws of Cricket made relevant amendments to its earlier clauses governing the wide rule.
As per the MCC Laws of Cricket, in clause 22.1.1, which is about how to judge a wide, stated: "If the bowler bowls a ball, not being a No ball, the umpire shall adjudge it a wide if, according to the definition in 22.1.2, the ball passes wide of where the striker is standing and which also would have passed wide of the striker standing in a normal guard position.''
What clinched the decision in Kohli's favour was a March 2022 amendment of the Clause 22.1.1 of the MCC Laws of Cricket.
"In the modern game, batters are, more than ever, moving laterally around the crease before the ball is bowled,'' MCC said in a statement.
"It was felt unfair that a delivery might be called 'Wide' if it passes where the batter had stood as the bowler entered his/her delivery stride.''
What the MCC statement states further is relevant in the context of the Kohli decision.
"Therefore, Law 22.1 has been amended so that a Wide will apply to where the batter is standing, where the striker has stood at any point since the bowler began their run up, and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position.''
To simplify what it means to our readers: If the ball passes by the position where the batter had positioned himself initially while the bowler was getting into his delivery stride, then the delivery would not be called a wide even if the batsman makes a movement and covers the stumps.
Which is exactly what happened with Kohli on Thursday as he covered the stumps moving from his original standing position to Nasum Ahmed's delivery.
Since the ball passed Kohli's original standing position, Kettleborough's no-wide call was the right decision without a doubt.
