Melbourne Renegades were up against Perth Scorchers at the Marvel Stadium, which features a retractable roof. Due to technical issues, all games at the venue are played with a closed roof. It has often resulted in the batters hitting the balls straight onto the roof, which fetched an automatic six in the previous seasons.

However, a dead ball was announced when Perth batter Cooper Connolly hit Kane Richardson’s slower-length ball to the roof on Monday, a result of the changed rules that Cricket Australia have implemented to deal with the issue.

Batters will no longer be getting awarded automatic six runs for hitting the Marvel Stadium roof, with the umpires deciding whether the ball would have cleared the boundary.

If they decide it would have gone past the rope, the batter will be given six runs, if not a dead ball will be called.

According to the 2024/25 BBL’s Playing Conditions, “If the ball having been struck by the bat hits any part of the stadium roof structure, retractable or fixed, the following will apply: If in the opinion of the umpires, the ball would have cleared the boundary, then a boundary six shall be awarded. Otherwise, the umpires shall call and signal Dead Ball and the ball will be re-bowled.”

Connolly miscued the ball early before the ball hit the roof and bounced back towards Richardson, who tried to take a one-handed catch. He had to undergo treatment as the umpires decided the ball had to be bowled again.

Third change to the 'roof' rule

This is the third time that the roof rules have been changed in the BBL. Originally, every ball hitting the roof was deemed a dead ball but different rules applied to the ball hitting retraceable and fixed parts of the roof - if the roof was open, a ball that hit any part of the stadium was deemed a six; if it was closed, any ball that hit the retractable part was ruled a dead ball. It was later changed to award every batter six runs for any impact on the roof.

In January 2023, two shots by Joe Clarke hit the closed roof in the same game, resulting in two sixes being awarded. The incident led to plenty of criticism and frustration, following which the BBL changed the regulations again.

Peter Roach, CA's Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling, told cricket.com.au that getting a six by just hitting the ball straight in the air "just seemed a little bit wrong."

He added that the decision to decide whether the ball would go for a six or not shall be decided by the on-field umpires along with the TV umpire and not technology: "There's actually an existing rule (Law 20.4.2.12) in cricket where if a ball is hit along the ground and a 'joker' from the crowd jumps the fence and stops it, the umpires make a ruling whether it goes for four or not based on how fast it was going, where it was going and where the fielders were.

"So boundaries are already assessed in certain circumstances by umpires so we think this is a logical extension. Every case we've seen it's been a pretty clear position of either the ball is going for six or it's not … we think the three officials that are there are best placed to make that call."

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