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Types of Dismissals in Cricket

There are 10 types of dismissals or in other words a batsman can be out in 10 different styles as mentioned below :

1. Bowled

A batsman is out ‘bowled’ when the bowler gets any of the three stumps (wickets) disturbed and in the process atleast one of the bails fall down out of their groove. The batsman can be bowled if he misses the ball and it hits the stumps taking the bail onto the ground or if the ball deflects off his bat or pad or glove or any part of the body or equipment onto the stumps.

Conditions and Scenarios:

  • The ball is not no-balled, not called as a dead ball or in simple terms is a legal delivery according to the Umpire.
  • Atleast one of the bails should fall down out of the groove.
  • At times, due to the non-availability of bails as it happens at the club level, a batsman is out ‘bowled’ when the ball hits or even touches the stumps.
  • When bails are available and if the ball manages to hit the stumps and the bails resist to fall down, then the batsman is ‘not out’.
  • There are also situations as seen in Test matches when the ball mysteriously sneaks through between two stumps without disturbing them. In such a situation also the batsman is ‘not out’. The Umpires then have to fix the distance between each of the stumps properly.

2. Caught

A batsman is out ‘caught’ when the ball either takes the bat (including the handle) or any part of the glove and is held on the full by a fielder/wicket keeper/bowler.

Conditions for a catch out:

  • The ball is not no-balled, not called as a dead ball or in simple terms is a legal delivery according to the Umpire.
  • When a player takes a catch, it has to be a clean one which means that no part of the ball should touch the ground.
  • When a player has taken a catch and in the process of taking it is making contact with the boundary rope then it is declared as a ‘six’ but not as a catch.
  • A player has to take a catch only inside the boundary ropes.
  • A player can jump out of the boundary ropes, deflect the ball inside the playing area while not touching the ground at all and then come inside the ropes to take the catch .
  • A fielder cannot use his hat/cap/sweater intentionally to take the catch.
  • When the ball hits the helmet or any part of the fielder on the full and is taken on the full by the same fielder or any other fielder then also it is a catch out.

3. Leg Before Wicket (LBW)

A batsman is adjudged LBW by the Umpire at the bowling end when he makes no contact with the ball with his bat/glove first and is hit on the pad or any part of the body and the ball according to the Umpire was on the path of heading towards any of the three stumps had there been no contact.

Conditions for an LBW:

  • The ball is not no-balled, not called as a dead ball or in simple terms is a legal delivery according to the Umpire.
  • If the ball pitches outside the line of the legstump, then a batsman cannot be given out ‘lbw’. This rule was made to discourage negative bowling down the legside which makes scoring runs very difficult.
  • If a batsman is struck outside the line of the off stump while attempting to play a shot, it should not be given out ‘lbw’.
  • If the ball first takes the bat or glove and then hits the pad, it is not out ‘lbw’.
  • A batsman can be out when he just pads up to a delivery even if its outside the line of the off stump providing that the Umpire thinks that the ball would have gone onto hit the stumps. Same is not the case with balls pitched outside the line of legstump.

4. Run Out

A batsman is out ‘run out’ when he fails to complete a run because of a fielder throwing the ball onto the stumps/holding the ball in his hand and disturbing the stumps with the batsman not getting behind the popping crease at that time.

Run Outs can be achieved by a single fielder firing a direct throw onto the stumps or when his throw is collected and the stumps are disturbed by another player. In either cases, the bails have to come out of their groove when the batsman is short of the crease. Run outs can be done at both ends of the pitch and either the striker or the non-striker can be dismissed depending on who was short of the crease first where the stumps were disturbed.

Conditions for a Run Out:

  • A batsman can be run out even of a no-ball and a wide ball.
  • A batsman can be run out even if he is inside the crease with his feet or bat in the air when the stumps are disturbed.
  • A batsman can be run out even if his bat or foot is on the crease as the line belongs to the Umpire. In short, the batsman has to get his bat or foot inside the line to be safe.
  • The non-striker can be run out when the shot played by the striker is deflected onto the stumps at the bowling end by the bowler provided that he is not in the crease.
  • When the stumps are disturbed (say by a direct throw with the batsman safely in the crease) and the batsmen attempt to run for overthrows, then for a run out to happen, the fielder has to take one stump out of the ground with the ball in his hands. The fielder can also reset all the stumps and bails and then disturb them to effect the run out.

5. Stumped Out

A batsman (Striker) is ‘Stumped Out’ when in an attempt to play the ball leaves the crease and misses it, the wicket keeper then collects the ball and takes the bails off to effect the stumping. A batsman is also Stumped out when he leaves the crease and the ball deflects off the keeper and breaks the stumps.

Stumpings usually happen when a spinner or a medium pacer is bowling with the wicket keeper standing upto the stumps. The prime difference between a Stumping and a Run Out is that in the former, the batsman is not looking to attempt a run. The credit for this type of dismissal goes to both the keeper and the bowler.

There are instances of a batsman getting stumped out when he drags his backfoot out of the crease while stretching forward to drive the ball and even when losing his balance while trying to flick the ball down the legside.

Like in the case of a ‘run out’, the batsman needs to have some part of his bat or foot or any part of the body touching the ground inside the crease to survive from a stumping. ‘Foot on the line’ is out again just like the case of a run out.

Conditions for a Stumped Out:

  • A batsman can be stumped out even of a wide ball.
  • A batsman cannot be stumped out off a no-ball.
  • The bail should be out of the groove when the batsman’s foot is in the air or out of the crease during a stumping.
  • When a keeper breaks the stumps without the ball in his hand then he has to remove one stump with the ball in his hand to effect the stumping.
  • The wicket keeper should not have collected the ball before passing the stumps unless the ball had made contact with the bat or some part of the batsman’s body or pads.

6. Hit Wicket:

A batsman is out ‘Hit Wicket’ when he dislodges the stumps with his bat or any part of the body while playing or avoiding the ball. Hit Wicket usually happens when the batsman goes too deep into the crease and gets too close to the stumps.

Hit Wicket generally happens when the batsman is looking to pull or hook the short balls and also when trying to tuck the ball to the onside which forces the backfoot very close to the stumps.

Hit Wicket can also be claimed by the fielding side when the batsman dislodges the stumps when he completes the shot and sets off for the first run. The batsman is also out ‘Hit Wicket’ when the ball takes his helmet or cap and the helmet/cap flies onto the stumps.

The credit for a Hit Wicket dismissal goes into the bowler’s account.

Conditions and Scenarios for a ‘Hit Wicket’:

  • The bowler should have bowled a legal delivery and the ball should not have been dead at the time of the stumps getting disturbed.
  • In case of a batsman attempting to play a shot and the bat slipping out of his hands and falling onto the stumps is also out Hit Wicket.
  • In case of a batsman breaking his bat and the broken part flying and hitting the stumps is not out.
  • It’s the duty of the batsman to keep his helmet/cap/hat intact and if they get knocked out of his head and fall onto the stumps due to any reasons like the ball hitting or due to heavy wind then he is out ‘Hit Wicket’.

7. Handled the ball

‘Handled the ball’ is a rare dismissal in cricket. A batsman is out ‘handled the ball’ when he touches the ball with his hand after playing a shot. Usually such a situation arises when the batsman in panic seeing the ball head towards the stumps uses the glove to stop that from happening.

The non-striker can also be out ‘handled the ball’ when he interrupts the throw of  fielder and takes it with his hand.

A batsman can collect the ball with his hand only after it has become absolutely dead otherwise on appeal from the fielding side can be dismissed. Its a general practice for the batsman to take consent of the fielding side before collecting the ball and giving them.

A batsman cannot be given out ‘Handled the ball’ when he does that to avoid an injury. He can also be given out ‘handled the ball’ off a noball.

8. Obstructing the field

Law 37 of the ICC rules says that if either batsman obstructs a fielder by action or words then he is out ‘Obstructing the field’. This type of dismissal is to ensure that the game sees no unfair play.

In layman words, when a batsman in the fear of getting caught disturbs the fielder by his words or actions such as pushing the fielder is given out ‘Obstructing the field’.

The batsman can also be given out ‘Obstructing the field’ when he hits a fielder’s throw which is on target to the stumps with the bat deliberately while being out of the crease. No player gets the credit for this dismissal and the runs scored befored the offence committed are recorded.

9. Hit the ball twice

Although there is such type of a dismissal, no batsman ever got dismissed in International Cricket by ‘Hit the ball twice’. This type of dismissal is given should the batsman intentionally strike the ball with the bat for the second time. However, if the batsman is in the process of trying to stop the ball from rebounding onto the stumps, then he can pat the ball away with his bat and cannot be given out ‘hitting the ball twice’. But if the batsman attempts a run after that then he can be given out by this type of dismissal.

10. Timed Out

Timed Out is another rare type of dismissal atleast in international cricket. After a batsman gets out, the next batsman is supposed to be ready to take guard or let the unbeaten batsman take strike within three minutes of the last dismissal. Otherwise the new batsman in can be given ‘Timed Out’. No player gets the credit for this dismissal.

Although it is a rare dismissal, incoming batsmen in the fear of getting out in such a fashion make sure that they are always ready. The problem arises when bowlers take wickets in a hurry in an unexpected manner and the batsmen sitting in the pavilion have very little time to pad up for batting.

‘Timed Out’ is modified when it comes to Twenty20 cricket with the new batsman given only 90 seconds to enter the field of play. The incoming batsman is not given out ‘Timed Out’ but instead the bowler gets an opportunity to bowl a ball without any batsman infront of the stumps. If the bowler succeeds in hitting the stumps, then the incoming batsman is given out. For this purpose, players sit in the dug out next to the boundary ropes instead of sitting in the far away pavilion.