Azhar suffers nasty close-in blow

Pakistan's batting hero Azhar Ali has been forced off the MCG after being struck a nasty blow on the helmet during day four of the Boxing Day Test.

Fielding at short leg, Azhar copped the full force of a powerful Matthew Wade pull shot, with the ball ballooning up off his helmet and being caught by teammate Babar Azam.

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The opener received some treatment on the ground before getting to his feet and leaving the field to the warm applause of the small crowd scattered around the MCG.

While the ball didn't touch the ground before resting in Babar's hands, Wade wasn't given out under a law of the game that is due to be amended in the new year.

As it stands, a batsman can't be dismissed if the ball makes contact with a fielder's helmet.

But at a meeting on the MCC's Cricket Committee earlier this month, the Committee determined that catches and stumpings will now be permitted after the ball has struck a helmet worn by a fielder.

The main MCC committee has been asked to approve the change to the rules into the official Laws of Cricket.

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"It is felt that balls rebounding off a fielder’s helmet could equally help or hinder the fielding side and so the suggestion that rebounds off the helmet make catches easier should be disregarded," the Committee said in a statement.

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