Should it stay or should it go? Controversy over rule as Stars hit the roof twice in one innings

Joe Clarke and Beau Webster both it the ball into the roof of Docklands Stadium last night.

In a close Melbourne Derby last night at Docklands Stadium, we were reminded of another rule rarely seen in cricket - if a batsman hits the roof, they will be awarded six runs.

The rule was introduced back in around a decade ago after the Renegade's Aaron Finch - who was playing yesterday - hit a ball that was heading for the second tier of Marvel Stadium before being stopped in its tracks hitting one of the two main beams on the roof. The shot had to be called a dead ball.

According to Fox Sports, "when the roof is closed, any ball that hits part of the retractable section of the roof will be ruled a dead ball."

"All other areas of the stadium roof or structure will be ruled a six."

Before Aaron Finch, the ball had only hit the roof one other time back in 2005 by Mike Hussey in an ODI series against South Africa where the ball was also heading for the grandstands.

But the rule has is now facing questions by past and present players after the Melbourne Stars managed to hit the rule twice in the space of an innings.

The two shots were different to what we saw in 2005 and 2013. Instead of having the trajectory of going over the boundary, last night the 2 shots went straight up having virtually no chance of going for six and more of a chance of being caught.

In both cases, however, the umpires awarded six runs.

Aaron Finch said to Fox Cricket commentators that it would have been "two simple catches tonight."

The events of last night have divided cricket fans all over social media, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts and opinions on the rule.

The BBL themselves ran a poll on Twitter asking fans to share what they think the rule should be, with majority saying it should go back to being a dead ball.

In the end, it didn't affect the final result as the Melbourne Stars fell short by 6 runs in the drama-filled Melbourne Derby.

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