Rules & Signals of Cricket

Cricket takes itself seriously. While most sports have rules, cricket has "laws", 42 of them. Cricket writer and author of "Cricket For Dummies", Julian Knight, says the game has "more laws than you can shake a stick at", and estimates a full explanation would take 10,000 words. The Marylebone Cricket Club, London, is the official guardian of cricket's laws, a practice begun in 1784.

  1. Pitch Dimensions

    • The laws state: The pitch shall be 22 yards long, with wickets, a set of three stumps nine inches wide and 28 inches high, at both ends. A crease, four feet inside each wicket, marks the batsman's safe ground -- and the bowler's limit at the other end. The bat is willow, no more than 4 1/4 inches wide and 38 inches long, while the ball is made of leather, close to nine inches in diameter and weighing a little less that six ounces.

    Bowlers' Rules

    • The bowler must not overstep the batting crease -- that is a "no ball" He must bowl the ball with the arm straight at point-of-delivery, otherwise it's a throw, a "no-ball. He must not bowl so wide of the wicket that a batsman in normal stance cannot reach the ball. If he thinks the batsman is out caught, stumped," run-out", leg-before-wicket (lbw), he must appeal to the umpire, usually with a loud shout of demand and delight, "Howzat?", before the next delivery..

    Batsman's Rules

    • The batsman must protect his wicket with his bat. If he misses a delivery that hits the wicket, he is out "bowled". If he hits aerially and a fielder catches the ball, he is out "caught". When the ball is in play he must remain inside his safety zone, unless running to the other end for a "run". If he misses a delivery and the wicketkeeper catches him out of his zone, he is out "stumped". Failure to make his zone, when attempting a run, results in "run-out". If a delivery, going straight for his wicket, hits his body before it hits his bat, he is out lbw--on appeal to the umpire who must decide

    Umpire Signals

    • The umpire starts the game by raising his right hand and calling, "play". He ends each player's innings with one index finger raised above eye-level. This signals "out", usually after an appeal from the fielding side. By tradition the umpire will not signal for "bowled" -- the evidence of the broken wicket is beyond question.

    Bowling

    • To signal a "wide" delivery the umpire behind the wicket will put both arms out parallel to the ground (the same as "safe" in baseball). If the bowler oversteps, he will extend one arm out, the instant he sees it, and call "no ball".

    Bye Signals

    • If the wicketkeeper misses the ball and the batsmen choose to run, they score a "bye" and the umpire will make the same signal as "play". If the ball hits the batsman, usually on the leg, and he makes a run, the umpire will signal "leg bye" by raising one leg and patting his knee or thigh.

    Boundary signals

    • The signal for a hit to the boundary is "four runs". The umpire will extend one arm and bring it across his chest, two or three times until the scorers acknowledge. The umpire signals a "six" a clean hit over the boundary, by raising both arms above his head.