Phoebe Litchfield's dismissal in the Hundred final should have been called 'dead ball' due to Georgia Adams' movement before the ball was bowled, the MCC has said. Litchfield's side Sunrisers Leeds lost by eight wickets to Trent Rockets.
Litchfield had scored 10 runs off her first four balls in Sunday's final between Sunrisers Leeds and Trent Rockets, but was caught at short fine leg when lap-sweeping the seamer Charley Phillips. Adams had moved several paces to her left as Phillips ran in, then continued to move in that direction when she saw Litchfield jump across her stumps to play the shot.
The MCC said in a statement on Tuesday that Adams' initial movement - before the ball was bowled - contravened Law 28.6, which reads as follows:
28.6.1 Any movement by any fielder, excluding the wicket-keeper, after the ball comes into play and before the ball reaches the striker, is unfair except for the following:
28.6.1.1 minor adjustments to stance or position in relation to the striker's wicket.
28.6.1.2 movement by any fielder, other than a close fielder, towards the striker or the striker's wicket that does not significantly alter the position of the fielder.
28.6.1.3 movement by any fielder in response to the stroke that the striker is playing or that his/her actions suggest he/she intends to play.
The MCC said: "The batter has an absolute right to know where the fielders are, and any change of position, like Adams' movement during the run up, is a clear violation of this right. Any sideways movement after the bowler begins their run-up, until the striker signifies what shot they will play, is therefore illegal.
"The on-field umpires, who cannot always be expected to spot everything when they have other things to observe, did not see the illegal movement and so the dismissal stood. If they had noticed it, they would have called Dead ball and awarded five Penalty Runs to the batting side."
After the final, in which she won player of the match, Adams - who took 2 for 9 in 15 balls, and was also involved in pulling off a run-out - said that the catch had been "pretty surreal."
She said: "I had this sense that she was going to ramp. I saw her take a quick glance at the field behind and she knew that they [the fielders] were both up, and it's obviously a big part of her game. I thought, if I see her go for it, I'm just going to charge, and thankfully I stuck a hand out and it stuck."