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There are ten
methods a batsman can be given out - five are very common and five
are a bit rare.
More often than not a batsman will be caught,
bowled, given leg before wicket (lbw), run out or stumped.
The five other ways to lose your wicket range
from the uncommon to the almost unseen.
The uncommon methods, but not unheard of, are
'hit wicket' - when a batsman removes his or her own bails - and
'handled the ball' - when he handles the ball without permission
from the fielding side.
The almost unseen are 'hit the ball twice'
(also known as 'double hit') - deliberately hitting the ball twice;
'obstructing the field' - preventing fielders from executing a run
out; and 'timed out', which is when a new batsman takes too long to
appear on the field.
It's worth knowing however that for the batsman
to be given out, the fielding team have to appeal to the umpire by
asking "how's that
Caught
Being caught is the most common way of getting
out.
A batsman is out caught when a fielder catches
the ball directly off the bat, before it has hit the ground.
The ball does not have to come directly off the
bat.
It can deflect from the pad on to the bat or
from the bat on to the pad and still be caught, so long as the
fielder takes the ball on the full.
Also if the ball hits the batter on the hand,
below the wrist, then they can still be out caught so long as that
hand is in contact with the bat.
But a batsman can not be given out caught off a
no-ball.
When a bowler takes a catch off their own
bowling, the batsman is out caught and bowled.
And when a wicketkeeper takes the catch the
batter is out caught behind.
If the ball gets caught in a batter's pads and
a fielder removes it and attempts to claim a catch, the umpire
should give the batsman "not out" as the ball is a "dead ball".
If a fielder catches the ball as it crosses the
boundary - the batsman is out as long as the fielder does not touch
the boundary or the ground beyond it (ie his feet remain inside the
boundary, though his hands may be over it).
Bowled
Surely this is the job of the batsman to protect his stumps
But if a bowler manages to get a ball through
and knock off the bails, the two bits of wood resting at the top of
the stumps, then the batsman is out "bowled".
A batsman is still out bowled if they
accidentally deflect the ball onto the stumps off their bat or pad.
But you can't be bowled off a no-ball.
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The leg
before wicket
(lbw) law is to cricket what the offside rule is to
football - confusing.
However, you do not need a PhD from
Oxford
University to work it out - just this simple guide.
The umpire will consider an lbw decision
if he believes the ball would have hit the stumps had it not
been obstructed by the batsman's pads.
But the umpire also has to take other
factors into consideration.
THE BATSMAN IS NOT OUT...
If the ball pitches outside the line of
leg stump, regardless of whether or not the ball would have
gone on to hit the stumps.
If the ball hits the bat before striking
the pad.
If the batsman is struck on the pad
outside the line of off stump having made a genuine attempt
to hit the ball.
If the bowler bowls a no-ball.
One of the most important rules when
making an lbw decision is a batsman CANNOT be given out if
the ball pitches outside leg stump. It does not matter if
the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps, it cannot be
given out.
Often an lbw decision looks out at first
glance, but TV replays showed the ball pitched outside leg
stump, even though it would have struck middle stump.
THE BATSMEN IS OUT...
If the batsman is struck on the pad in
front of the stumps and the ball has not pitched outside leg
stump (ie the ball has pitched in line with the stumps, or
outside the line of off stump).
If the batsman is struck on the pad
outside the line of off stump having not made an attempt to
hit the ball.
This is an important part of the lbw law
to remember as a batsman CAN be given out playing no stroke
- even if they are struck outside the line of the off stump
- as long as the ball is going on to hit the stumps.
A batsman can still be given out lbw even
if the ball has not hit their pads.
For example, a batsman can be given out
lbw if they have been hit on the helmet.
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Run out
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A run out is when the batters are going for a run or
runs, but fall short of the batting crease when the
stumps are broken by the fielding team.
The batsman must have some part
of his bat or body grounded beyond the crease - on
the line would be out.
This is why you see batsmen run
that bat along the ground with an outstretched arm
in front of them.
However, controversy struck in
England's second Test match against
Pakistan in
Faisalabad when Inzamam-ul-Haq was adjudged run
out when he raised his back foot avoiding Steve
Harmison's throw at the stumps.
Under law 38. 2 (a), "a batsman
is not run out if he has been within his ground and
has subsequently left it to avoid injury when the
wicket is put down."
So that means a batsman cannot
be run out when taking evasive action from a throw
if he has not left his crease.
But square leg umpire Darrell
Hair referred the decision to third umpire Nadeem
Ghauri, who adjudged - wrongly - that Inzamam was
out.
Run-out decisions are always
difficult for umpires because it all happens so
fast.
That is why at the highest
level the umpire can choose to refer the decision to
the third umpire, who can watch video replays.
Run-out decisions are more
common in one-day games than in Test matches as the
players have less time to accumulate the runs.
You can be run out off a
no-ball.
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If
Stumped
a batsman comes down the wicket to smash the ball,
there's a chance they will be stumped by the
wicketkeeper.
A stumping happens when the
keeper collects the ball and knocks off the
bails before the batter gets their bat or
any part of their body grounded behind the
batting crease.
Touching the batting crease
with the bat or heel of the foot isn't good
enough to save the batsman.
They must have something in
contact with the ground behind the crease.
You can not be stumped off
a no-ball, but you can be stumped if the
ball is called wide.
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Hit wicket
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This dismissal happens when
the batter knocks their stumps over
while playing a shot or avoiding a
delivery.
This can be with the bat or with the
body.
It often happens when a batsman
steps back too far playing a
difficult delivery and treads on the
wicket.
Kevin Pietersen was once out "hit
wicket" when the chinstrap of his
helmet broke and the helmet hit the
wicket after it fell off.
The bowler gets the credit for the
wicket.
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Handled the ball
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If a batsman is worried
the ball will roll back on
to the stumps after playing
a shot, they can knock the
ball away with the bat, feet
or pads.
But if they use their hands
they can be given out
handled the ball.
Again this is another type
of dismissal you see rarely
- but it does happen.
Former England captain
Michael Vaughan has been
dismissed this way.
Another former England
captain, Graham Gooch, was
once given his marching
orders for handling the
ball.
When a batter picks the ball
up off the pitch to pass the
ball back to the fielding
side though, this is fine.
Normally, the batsman will
check with the fielding side
that they are happy for him
to do this.
The bowler does not get
credit for the wicket.
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hit the ball twice
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This is another
dismissal you rarely
see in cricket.
But a batter can be given out "hit the
ball twice" if the
second strike is
deliberate.
There are two exceptions that allow a
batsman to hit the
ball on a second
occasion:
Protecting their wicket (ie: stopping the
ball from rolling
back on to the
stumps).
And returning the ball to the fielding
team, with their
permission
The batsman is not allowed to hit the
ball a second time
to prevent a catch -
and he is also out
if in hitting the
ball a second time
to protect his
wicket, he prevents
a catch.
The bowler does not get credit for the
wicket.
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Obstructing the field
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The
umpire can
give a
batsman out
if he feels
the batter
has got in
the way of a
fielder who
is about to
take a catch
or attempt a
run-out.
But the obstruction has to be seen to
be a
deliberate
act to be
given out,
and the
bowler does
not get the
credit for
the
dismissal.
This is a very uncommon method of
dismissal
hardly ever
seen in club
or
international
cricket.
However Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq was controversially
dismissed in
this fashion
during
Pakistan's one-day international against
India in Peshawar in February 2006.
The Pakistan batsman was out of his crease when
he
"defended"
Suresh
Raina's
throw at the
stumps from
the
outfield.
The Indian fielders rightly appealed
and Inzamam
was given
his marching
orders, much
to his
chagrin.
He was only the third batsman in
limited-overs
history to
be given out
obstructing
the field.
timed out
This
is something
you rarely
see in any
sort of
cricket
match.
Because it is a not a good
sporting
gesture, it
is very rare
that batters
are ever
timed out.
But you need to know about the
law that
says when a
wicket
falls, the
next batter
must be at
the crease
to face the
next ball
within three
minutes of
the wicket
falling.
Should this ever happen, no
player on
the fielding
side is
given the
credit for
the
dismissal.
In the Twenty20 Cup in
England, to keep the game speeded up,
the incoming
batsman must
be ready to
take guard
(or for his
partner to
receive the
next ball)
within 90
seconds of
the previous
wicket
falling, or
he shall be
timed out.
There have only been a handful of
instances of
batsmen
being "timed
out" in the
entire
history of
first-class
cricket -
one of which
was
Nottinghamshire
seamer
Andrew "AJ"
Harris in
2003.
With Notts playing Durham UCCE in
a
first-class
friendly
match,
Harris was
struggling
with a groin
strain when
he came out
to bat as
Notts' last
man - and
was halfway
down the
pavilion
steps when
he was given
out.
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