MCC Cricket Rule Update: End of the "Bunny Hop" boundary line catch

Cricket's boundary lines have long been a stage for spectacular, often debated, fielding scenes. We have witnessed catches changing the course of a game entirely which also sparked controversies.

However, a significant shift is now underway as the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) decided to put an end to the "Bunny Hop" boundary line catches. Fans will no longer witness fielders performing multiple aerial contacts outside the boundary line to secure a wicket.

Moments like Michael Neser's controversial BBL grab and much-debated relay efforts like Tom Baton with Matt Renshaw in 2020 are now explicitly illegal. 

Get each and every detail about the MCC cricket rule update which marks an end of the "Bunny Hop" boundary line catch below:

Understanding the New Rule: A complete breakdown

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the official lawmaker of cricket, has updated the law 19.5.2 to address aerial boundary catches, specifically targeting the "bunny hop" technique. Here's what you need to know about the new update:

• Initial airborne contact from outside: If a fielder jumps from outside the boundary to touch the ball while airborne, that's their only airborne contact allowed from that position.
• Must land inside (immediately): After the single airborne touch, the fielder must land completely inside the field of play. If any part of their body touches outside the line, it will be automatically considered a boundary.
• No multiple aerial touches from outside: This means fielders can no longer "juggle" or make repeated airborne touches to the ball while being outside the boundary line.
• Relay Catches included: The rule applies equally to relay catches. If a fielder outside the boundary parries the ball back into play for a teammate, they must also adhere to "one airborne touch then land inside" rule. If they failed to do so, it will considered a boundary even if the other teammate completes the catch.

Read Also: Safest hands: Most catches in IPL history

The MCC has changed the law to make catches like this 'bunny hop' one from Michael Neser illegal. In short:

If the fielder's first touch takes them outside the boundary, their *second* touch must take them back inside the field of play.

Basically, you're no longer allowed to… pic.twitter.com/1jaqAev0hy

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) June 14, 2025

The MCC's official statement:

The updated law will be integrated into ICC's playing conditions this month (June) and also into the MCC's laws in October 2026.

They have stated: "MCC has devised a new wording where the 'bunny hop' wholly beyond the boundary is removed, but these catches where the fielder pushes the ball up from inside the boundary, steps outside and then dives back in to catch the ball, are permitted."

"Our solution has been to limit any fielder who has gone outside the boundary to touching the ball while airborne only once, and then, having done so, to be wholly grounded within the boundary for the rest of the duration of that delivery."

"Even if the ball is parried - to another fielder or inside the field of play - if the fielder lands outside the boundary, or subsequently steps outside, then a boundary will be scored."

"For clarity, that means the fielder gets one chance, and one chance only, to touch the ball having jumped from outside the boundary. After that point, the boundary becomes a hard line - and any time they touch the ground in that delivery, whatever else happens, they must be inside."

This officially marks an end of the "Bunny Hop" boundary line catch and will be applied in the new WTC Cycle, which starts on June 17, 2025.