'Freak' roof incident lights up BBL

The Etihad Stadium roof not only allowed Melbourne Renegades' KFC Big Bash League match to proceed on a wet Friday evening in Melbourne, it almost gifted them an undeserved – but potentially game-changing – six runs.

In what was labelled a "freak incident" by Perth Scorchers spinner Ashton Agar, the Renegades' Afghan recruit Mohammad Nabi was inches away from being awarded an automatic six off a delivery he was ultimately dismissed from during the final over of his side's innings.

Scorchers skipper Adam Voges skilfully managed to hang on to the catch despite Nabi's hefty strike appearing to slip between a supporting beam on the Etihad Stadium's roof, some 38 metres above the playing surface.

Nabi had been completely deceived by an Andrew Tye slower ball but he nonetheless made a solid connection. Had he gotten a marginally bigger piece of it, he would have been awarded six runs under a recent amendment to the BBL's playing conditions.

"It might have done," Voges told cricket.com.au when asked if the ball had looped over a gap between the roof's beams. "I know it went up high. I could see it most of the way.

"When it first went up, I thought it's hitting the roof for sure.

"I had a lot of time to think about it, then it didn’t hit the roof.

"Then I thought, 'geez I've got to catch this!' It was up there for a long, long time, I was just happy that I held onto it."

Former England star Kevin Pietersen questioned whether the ball had gone up and over a beam while on commentary for Channel Ten, while Agar, who was fielding on a straight boundary behind Voges and had a good view of Nabi's skied shot, was astonished by the incident.

"It must have gone between the railings when it reached the top of its height because otherwise you'd think it would have hit the railings," Agar told cricket.com.au.

"If that happened … incredible. That's amazing and a freak incident that it didn't hit the railings itself.

"I was watching the ball thinking that it was 100 per cent hitting the roof. When it reached the apex … it must have been inches off the roof.

"That judgment from such a steep angle is crucial. (Voges) did so well because he thought he was there (in the right position) and he had to adjust his hands. Incredible catch."

While the Renegades were already eight wickets down prior to Voges' superb catch and in the final over of their faltering innings, the game might have had a different outcome had Nabi clipped the roof and been awarded a six.

The Scorchers, top of the BBL ladder after winning their first three games, only prevailed by three wickets on the final ball of the penultimate over having suffered a late collapse of 4-16 while chasing the hosts' sub-par 130.

An extra six runs – plus whatever else the dangerous Nabi could have mustered off another four balls – might have been enough to tip the game in the Renegades' favour.

Under previous versions of Cricket Australia's playing conditions for the BBL, the batting side was awarded six only if the ball hit a permanent part of the Etihad Stadium infrastructure, while a dead ball would be called if it struck any part of the retractable roof.

Prior to that recent change, Renegades captain Aaron Finch was awarded a six when he hit the roof in a BBL|02 game, prompting the initial amendment that has since been reversed.

Etihad Stadium is Australia's only cricket venue sporting a retractable roof and one of the few around the world. It takes less than 10 minutes to fully open or close.