Rules of Cricket

Getting Out

In baseball, the event of a batter getting out is called an out. In cricket, the event of a batsman getting out is called a wicket.

First, necessary definitions:

A wicket is broken if one or both of the bails have been dislodged from the top of the stumps and fallen to the ground. If both bails have fallen off for any reason and the ball is still live, then for a fielder to break the wicket he must pull a stump completely out of the ground with the ball in contact with the stump.
When a batsman is out, he has "lost his wicket", no matter by what method he got out. The fielding team have "taken his wicket". The event of a batsman getting out is "a wicket" or "the fall of a wicket". Note that the word wicket has several different meanings, depending on context.

Technically, whenever the members of the fielding team think a batsman is out, they must appeal to an umpire to make the ruling that he is out. In practice, this is only used for cases which are not obvious to everyone. Bowled is almost always obvious and caught is usually obvious; when these are obvious the batsman will simply walk off the field. Other methods usually or always require an appeal, and the batsman will wait for the decision of the umpire. If the fielding team neglects to appeal to an umpire for a non-obvious decision, the umpire will not make any ruling at all, and the batsman is not out by default.

Extra Detail: It is against the spirit of the game to appeal while knowing that the batsman is not out; for example, pretending to have caught a catch when the ball actually touched the ground. Players found guilty of breaching this deliberately can be penalised by the match referee.

The Ten Methods of Getting Out

There are ten methods of getting out.

Extra Detail: The first five methods occur commonly, and make up perhaps 99% of all wickets. The next two are quite rare. The last three methods almost never occur.

In baseball, the strike zone, at which the pitcher must aim to strike out a batter, is 17 inches wide. In cricket, the wicket, at which the bowler must aim to bowl out the batsman, is 9 inches wide.

1. Bowled

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the ball hits and breaks the wicket,

the batsman is out bowled. The batsman is out whether or not he is behind his popping crease. He is also out if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The batsman is not out if the wicket does not break.

In baseball, you catch balls on the fly. In cricket, you catch balls on the full.

In baseball, the ball must visibly deviate from the bat for the batter to be out caught. In cricket, you are out caught so long as the umpire is convinced the ball touched the bat at all, possibly only on audible cues.

2. Caught

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the batsman touches it with his bat or a batting glove in contact with the bat,
and a fielder catches the ball on the full (before it touches the ground),

the batsman is out caught.

Extra Detail: If a fielder catches the ball, but touches the boundary or anything beyond it while still touching the ball, then the batsman is not out and scores a six. If a fielder catches the ball after it has bounced off a wicket, player, or umpire, the batsman is out. If the ball has bounced off any form of protective gear worn by a fielder, such as a helmet or shinguard, the batsman is not out.

3. Leg Before Wicket (LBW)

In baseball, if the batter is hit by a pitch, he walks. Batters are rarely hit by pitches. In cricket, if the batsman is hit by a ball, he may be given out LBW, but usually nothing happens. Batsmen are frequently hit by balls.

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the batsman does not hit the ball with his bat,
the ball hits the batsman on the body,
the ball was travelling on a trajectory which would hit the wicket,
the ball did not bounce on the pitch outside the line of leg stump,
and either:
- the batsman was not attempting to hit the ball with his bat, OR
- the ball hit the batsman's body directly in front of the wicket,

the batsman is out leg before wicket (LBW).

4. Stumped

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the batsman does not hit the ball with his bat,
the batsman steps out of his crease,
and the wicketkeeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it while the batsman is out of his crease,

the batsman is out stumped.

5. Run Out

In baseball, you can tag out a runner between bases by touching him with the ball. In cricket, to get a runner out between the wickets you hit the wicket with the ball.

If the ball is live and:

the nearest batsman to a wicket is not grounded behind that wicket's popping crease,
and a fielder breaks that wicket with the ball while the batsman is out of the crease,

the batsman is out run out.

Extra Detail: The fielder may break the wicket by either:

throwing the ball at the wicket,
holding the ball and hitting the wicket with the ball,
or holding the ball and hitting the wicket with the hand which is holding the ball.

It is possible for the non-striker to be run out if the striker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker's wicket, and the bowler deflects the ball on to the wicket while the non-striker is out of his crease. If the ball is hit directly on to the non-striker's wicket, without being touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out. Note that the ball is live while the bowler is running up to bowl, so if the non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation to run) while the bowler is running up, the bowler may run him out without bowling the ball. Batsmen cannot be run out while the ball is dead - so they may confer in the middle of the pitch between balls if they desire.

6. Hit Wicket

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the batsman breaks his own wicket with any part of his bat, body, or equipment, while attempting to either:
- hit the ball, or
- evade the ball, or
- set off for a first run,

the batsman is out hit wicket.

Extra Detail: The bat or other equipment does not need to be touching the batsmen when it breaks the wicket. If the batsman loses his grip on his bat, or his helmet falls off, and either break the wicket, the batsman is out. The batsman can break the wicket when either turning for another run or completing a run - that is not out.

7. Handled The Ball

If, at any time:

a batsman deliberately touches the ball with a hand or glove that is not currently holding his bat for any reason other than:
- to avoid injury, or
- to return the ball to the fielding side,
and the fielding side has not specifically granted the batsman permission to touch the ball,

the batsman is out handled the ball.

8. Obstructing The Field

If:

either batsman wilfully obstructs or distracts a fielder to prevent a catch being made,

the striking batsman is out obstructing the field.

If the ball is live and:

either batsman wilfully obstructs or distracts a member of the fielding side, except to prevent a catch being made, or
either batsman wilfully touches the ball with his bat or body after the ball has touched a fielder, or
either batsman uses his bat or body to return the ball to the fielding side without having specifically been granted permission by the fielding side to touch the ball,

that batsman is out obstructing the field.

Extra Detail: Note that deliberately running a path between the wickets so that a fielder attempting to throw the ball at a wicket is obscured by the batsman's body is not considered obstructing the fielder, and the batsman in such a case is not out obstructing the field. Standing there and attempting to swat a thrown ball away is, however, obstructing the field.

9. Hit The Ball Twice

If the bowler bowls a ball at the batsman and:

the ball hits either the batsman or his bat,
a fielder has not subsequently touched the ball,
and the batsman touches the ball with his bat or any part of his body other than a hand not holding the bat, for any reason other than:
- to prevent the ball from breaking his wicket, or
- to return the ball to the fielding side,

the batsman is out hit the ball twice.

Extra Detail: This means that if the ball has been hit and is bouncing around near the wicket, the batsman may hit the ball away to prevent being out bowled, without being out hit the ball twice. He may not, however, score runs from the second hit, other than overthrows.

10. Timed Out

If a batsman is out and:

the new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous batsman was out, to appear on the field,

the new batsman is out timed out.

After a Wicket Falls

In baseball, the batting order must be communicated to the umpire before play and cannot be changed. In cricket, the batting order does not need to be communicated to anyone, and can be changed at any time for any reason.

In baseball, some games allow a designated hitter to bat in place of the pitcher, so the pitcher does not need to bat. In cricket, there is no designated hitter rule. All the bowlers must bat.

When a wicket falls (i.e. when a batsman is out), the out batsman leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat. The not out batsman remains on the field, at the wicket that was nearer to him than to the out batsman when the wicket fell. The order in which batsmen come in to bat in an innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in each innings.

When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out.

Extra Detail: Crediting the Wicket

If a batsman is out bowled, caught, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, then the bowler is credited with taking the wicket. No player is credited with taking a wicket if it falls by any other method.