WATCH, BBL | Umpires' failure to notice blatant flouting of rules deprives Melbourne of no-ball

Spinner Matthew Short alongside his captain Travis Head set a leg-side heavy field for the incoming batter with a specific bowling strategy in mind. Harper nearly fell victim to the plan on his second delivery itself when he was caught off-guard after dancing down the track but vicious spin ensured the ball hit his thigh and went to leg-slip harmlessly. Yet, Sydney Thunder player Chris Green who was commentating on the game at the moment was quick to point out that the batter could not be dismissed on the delivery anyway, given the illegal field setup of the fielding side. The rulebook only allows a maximum of five fielders to be placed on the leg side at any given moment but the Strikers' eagerness to gain scalps had seen them place a leg slip as well, making him the sixth fielder on the leg side.

The umpire had overlooked the error on the first ball that Harper faced and seemed to have missed it for a second straight time, given the entire DRS process was allowed to go through without any intervals. It was not until the next ball was about to be bowled that the umpire signaled a no-ball and a free hit for the Renegades. However, the incident left the batting dugout furious, given they had missed out on a deserved no-ball and the ensuing free-hit due to the umpire's error. The incident also highlighted a blatant loophole in cricket laws, which state the fielding team cannot change its field setup on a free-hit if the batter does not change strike. however, in this instance, Head was forced to shuffle the field since the very nature of the offense was field-based.