In cricket, a cap that falls off by accident is not treated the same way as a cap deliberately used to stop the ball. The important difference is the fielder’s action: accidental contact with fallen clothing is distinct from intentionally using an object as fielding equipment. This explanation concerns an ordinary cap, not a protective helmet.
When the cap falls accidentally
Fictional example: A deep fielder is running towards the boundary. His cloth cap slips from his head and lands several metres away. Before he can pick it up, the batted ball rolls into the cap and stops. The fielder did not place or move the cap to intercept the ball. On the stated facts, that contact alone is not illegal fielding.
A still photograph cannot establish whether the fielder deliberately used the cap. The sequence matters: did the cap fall first, and did the fielder then leave it alone, or did he position it to block the ball?
When the cap is used deliberately
Fictional contrast: A fielder sees the ball travelling towards the boundary, removes his cap, and throws it so that it stops the ball. That is a deliberate use of discarded clothing to field. It is therefore an illegal-fielding event under the relevant law, rather than an accidental cap incident.
What follows after illegal fielding
For illegal fielding, the ball becomes immediately dead, five penalty runs are awarded to the batting side, and the delivery is not counted as part of the over. These consequences do not arise merely because a cap happened to fall and was then contacted by the ball. The final position of the cap does not establish intent.
Competition-specific playing conditions can modify how laws are applied, so this is a rule explanation rather than a scorecard calculation. See the MCC Law on the fielder for the relevant provisions.
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