Runs

The primary concern of the batsman on strike (i.e., the "striker") is to prevent the ball hitting the wicket and secondarily to score runs by hitting the ball with his bat so that he and his partner have time to run from one end of the pitch to the other before the fielding side can return the ball. To register a run, both runners must touch the ground behind the crease with either their bats or their bodies (the batsmen carry their bats as they run). Each completed run increments the score.

Run (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen (plus any extras) constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 (a 'half century') or 100 runs (a 'century' or 'ton'), or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement. By extension, a partnership of two batsmen moving the team score on by a multiple of 50 runs, or the team score passing a multiple of 50 runs, is also cause for celebration.

==Rules==
The rules concerning the scoring of runs are mostly contained in Law 18 of the [[Laws of cricket]]. The simplest way for a batsman to score a run is by the striker hitting the ball such that both batsman can run from one end of the pitch to the other without either batsman getting out: the batsmen effectively exchanging positions, so the striking batsman becomes the non-striker, and vice versa. The batsmen may be able to run up and down the pitch more than once, crossing each time, to score two, three or more runs. A batsman can also score four or six runs by hitting the ball to or over the [[Boundary (cricket)|boundary]], and may be awarded five penalty runs in certain situations.

Thus, according to Law 18, a run is scored when:
*the batsmen, or their [[runner (cricket)|runner]], at any time while the ball is in play, have crossed and made good their ground from end to end;
*when a [[Boundary (cricket)|boundary]] is scored;
*when [[extra (cricket)#Penalty runs|penalty run]]s are awarded;
*when "[[lost ball]]" is called.

Runs are added to the team score, but not the score of an individual batsman, for extras ([[no ball]]s, [[wide]]s, [[bye (cricket)|bye]]s and [[leg bye]]s).

==Short runs==

To score a run, each batsman must run from the [[Crease (cricket)|popping crease]] at one end to the [[Crease (cricket)|popping crease]] at the other end. A run is "short" if one of the running batsmen fails to make good his ground on turning for a further run (that is, the batsman fails to complete the run by putting some part of his body or his bat on the ground behind the [[Crease (cricket)|popping crease]]) – in this event, the number of runs achieved is decreased by the number of "short" runs. Although a short run also shortens the next run, since the second run starts somewhat closer to the destination than it should, the second run is not regarded as "short" if it is completed. A batsman taking up his batting stance in front of his crease may also run from that point without penalty.

If either [[Umpire (cricket)|umpire]] considers that either or both batsmen deliberately run short, the umpire can give a warning to the batsman that this is unfair and disallow any earned runs from that delivery. If an umpire considers that any batsmen deliberately runs short again in that [[innings]], a 5 run penalty is conceded to the bowling side. In practice, this rule is rarely invoked.

More than one run can be scored from a single hit but, while hits worth one to three runs are common, the size of the field is such that it is usually difficult to run four or more. To compensate for this, hits that reach the boundary of the field are automatically awarded four runs if the ball touches the ground en route to the boundary or six runs if the ball clears the boundary on the full. The batsmen do not need to run if the ball reaches or crosses the boundary.

Hits for five are unusual and generally rely on the help of "overthrows" by a fielder returning the ball. If an odd number of runs is scored by the striker, the two batsmen have changed ends and the one who was non-striker is now the striker. Only the striker can score individual runs but all runs are added to the team's total.

The decision to attempt a run is ideally made by the batsman, who has the better view of the ball's progress, and this is communicated by calling: "yes", "no" and "wait" are often heard.

Running is a calculated risk because if a fielder breaks the wicket with the ball while the nearest batsman is out of his ground (i.e., he does not have part of his body or bat in contact with the ground behind the popping crease), the batsman is run out.

A team's score is reported in terms of the number of runs scored and the number of batsmen that have been dismissed. For example, if five batsmen are out and the team has scored 224 runs, they are said to have scored 224 for the loss of 5 wickets (commonly shortened to "224 for five" and written 224/5 or, in Australia, "five for 224" and 5/224).

Dismissals

Types of Dismissals

In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out (also known as the fielding side taking a wicket and/or the batting side losing a wicket). At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings.

==Role==

Once dismissed, a batsman cannot score any more [[run (cricket)|runs]] in that innings. Thus dismissal is the best way to control the runs scored in an innings, and prevent the batting side from either achieving their target score or posting a large total for the fielding side to follow in the next innings.

Additionally, in [[Test cricket]] it is necessary for a side fielding last to have dismissed ten players of the opposing team in their final innings to achieve victory.

==Adjudication==
By convention, dismissal decisions are handled primarily by the players - thus if the dismissal is obvious the batsman will voluntarily leave the field without the umpire needing to dismiss them. If the batsman and fielding side disagree about a dismissal then the fielding side must [[appeal (cricket)|appeal]] to the umpire who will then decide whether the batsman is out. In competitive cricket, many difficult catching and LBW decisions will be left to the umpire; if a batsman acknowledges that he is out in such cases and departs without waiting for the umpire's decision it is known as 'walking', and regarded as an honourable but controversial act.{{cite news | last = Derriman | first = Philip | title = To walk, or not to walk, that is the question | work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date = 2004-10-06 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784055646.html | accessdate = 2008-12-19}}

If the umpire believes he has incorrectly dismissed a batsman, he may recall him to the crease if he has not already left the field of play. A recent example of this was in the 2007 [[Lord's]] [[test cricket|test match]] between [[England cricket team|England]] and [[India cricket team|India]] when [[Kevin Pietersen]] was initially given out caught behind, but was recalled when [[Instant_replay#Cricket|television replays]] showed that the ball had bounced before being taken by [[Mahendra Singh Dhoni]].[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6907896.stm England fight back after collapse], ''[[BBC Sport]]'', 20 July 2007

==Ways of getting out==

A batsman can be dismissed in a number of ways, the most common being bowled, caught, [[leg before wicket]] (LBW), stumped and run out. Much rarer are hit wicket, hit the ball twice, handled the ball, obstructing the field and timed out.

The [[bowler (cricket)|bowler]] is credited in the statistics with having taken a wicket if the batsman is out bowled, LBW, caught, stumped, or hit wicket. If the ball is a [[no ball]] then the batsman cannot be out in any of these ways. The bowler is not credited with having taken a wicket if the batsman is run out, handles the ball, hits the ball twice, obstructs the field, or is timed out; these dismissals may occur if the delivery is a [[no ball]]. The fieldsman is credited in the statistics with a dismissal if he takes a catch or a stumping (for a stumping this will necessarily be the [[wicket-keeper]]), and may be credited on scorecards for a run-out (although a run-out will not be credited to a player's statistics).

===Law 2.9(b) : [[Retired out|Retired]]===

If any batsman leaves the field of play without the Umpire's consent for any reason other than injury or incapacity, he may resume the innings only with the consent of the opposing captain. If he fails to resume his innings, he is recorded as being ''Retired - out''. For the purposes of calculating a [[batting average]], retired out is considered a dismissal.

Only two players in Test history have ever been given out in this manner, [[Marvan Atapattu]] (for 201) and [[Mahela Jayawardene]] (for 150), both in the same innings of the same match playing for [[Sri Lanka cricket team|Sri Lanka]] against [[Bangladesh cricket team|Bangladesh]] in September 2001.[http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63947.html Cricinfo - 2nd Match: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at Colombo (SSC), Sep 6-8, 2001] Apparently, this was done in order to give the other players batting practice; the unsportsmanlike behavior drew criticism.[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010909/sports.htm#5] In May 1983 [[Gordon Greenidge]] of [[West Indies cricket team|the West Indies]] retired out on 154 to visit his daughter, who was ill and who died two days later; he was subsequently judged to have retired not out, the only such decision in Test history.[http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63339.html Cricinfo - 5th Test: West Indies v India at St John's, Apr 28-May 3, 1983]

There are numerous other recorded instances of batsmen retiring out in first-class cricket. In 1993 [[Graham Gooch]], immediately after completing his hundredth first-class century with a six, retired on 105.[http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/347907.html Cricinfo - Join the club]

===Law 30 : [[Bowled]]===

If a bowler's delivery hits the [[stump (cricket)|stumps]] and a [[bail (cricket)|bail]] is completely removed from the top of the stumps, the ''striker'' (the batsman facing the bowler) is out. The ball can either have struck the stumps directly, or have been deflected off the bat or body of the batsman. However, the batsman is not bowled out if the ball is touched by a [[fielder]] or the umpire before hitting the stumps.

===Law 31 : [[Timed out]]===

If a new player takes more than three minutes to be ready to face or be ready for his partner the next delivery after the previous batsman was ruled out, then the new player is out. (It was previously required that a batsman was on the field of play within two minutes) In the case of extremely long delays, the umpires may forfeit the match to either team. This method of taking a wicket has never been employed in the history of Test cricket. However how long a delay is allowed before calling the game a forfeit, is still not known. Darryl Hair's controversial decision to award the 4th test in 2006 to England when Pakistan refused to take the field resulted in his sacking from international cricket, despite his being within the laws of the game. In 2008 Darryl Hair was allowed to resume his career as a Test Match Umpire.

There have been only four occasions in all forms of First-Class cricket where a batsman has been given out Timed Out.[http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/countycricket2007/content/story/124532.html Cricinfo - Out of time] These are:
*A. Jordaan - Eastern Province v Transvaal at Port Elizabeth in 1987-88 (Jordaan, not out overnight, was prevented from reaching the ground by flooded roads the following day)
*H. Yadav - Tripura v Orissa at Cuttack in 1997-98 (Yadav, in conversation with his team manager on the boundary, did not attempt to reach the crease)
*[[Vasbert Drakes|V.C. Drakes]] - Border v Free State at East London in 2002 (Drakes was still on his way to the match by aeroplane from his native West Indies when he was due to bat)
*A.J. Harris - Nottinghamshire v Durham UCCE at Nottingham in 2003 (Harris, suffering from a groin strain, took too long to walk to the crease and was given out on appeal).

===Law 32 : [[Caught (cricket)|Caught]]===

If the batsman hit the ball with the bat (or with the glove when the glove is in contact with the bat) and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground, then the batsman is out. The batsman can not be given out caught if the ball strikes a helmet (or other external protective equipment excluding a keeper wearing gloves or pads) worn by a member of the fielding side prior to being caught, regardless of whether it touches the ground or not.

"Caught behind" (an unofficial term) indicates that a player was caught by the wicket-keeper, or less commonly by the slips. "Caught and bowled" (another unofficial term) indicates the player who bowled the ball also took the catch.

===Law 33 : [[Handled the ball]]===

If the batsman touches the ball with his hand for any purpose other than, with the approval of the fielders, to return the ball to the bowler, he is out on appeal. It is considered etiquette for the fielding team not to appeal if the handling of the ball does not effect the play of the game, although there are occasions when this etiquette has been ignored.

Only seven batsman have been out ''handled the ball'' in the history of Test cricket: [[Russell Endean]], [[Andrew Hilditch]], [[Mohsin Khan]], [[Desmond Haynes]], [[Graham Gooch]], [[Steve Waugh]] and [[Michael Vaughan]].[http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/275285.html Cricinfo - Records - Test matches - Unusual dismissals] Two batsmen have been given out in this fashion in one-day internationals: [[Mohinder Amarnath]] and [[Darryl Cullinan]].[http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283167.html Cricinfo - Records - One-Day Internationals - Unusual dismissals]

===Law 34 : [[Hit the ball twice]]===

If the batsman "hits" the ball twice, he is out. The first hit is considered to be if the ball has struck the batsman or his bat, whilst the second "hit" has to be an intentional and separate contact with the ball - not necessarily using the bat. The batsman may hit the ball a second time with his bat or body (not a hand not in contact with the bat) if it is performed to stop the ball from hitting the stumps. So it is possible to be out hitting the ball twice, whilst not actually hitting the ball with the bat at all.

No batsman has been out ''hit the ball twice'' in [[Test cricket]].

===Law 35 : [[Hit wicket]]===

If the batsman dislodges his own stumps with his body or bat, while in the process of taking a shot or beginning his first run, then he is out. This law does not apply if he was avoiding a ball thrown back to the wicket by a fielder, or broke the wicket in avoiding a run out.

This law also applies if part of the batsman's equipment is dislodged and hits the stumps: [[Dwayne Bravo]] hit [[Kevin Pietersen]] in the head with a bouncer and his helmet hit the stumps during the 2007 England vs West Indies test match at Old Trafford; a topspinner from [[Richie Benaud]] once knocked off [[Joe Solomon]]'s cap, and the cap landed on Solomon's stumps.

Being out hit-wicket is often seen as a comic method of dismissal. In 1991 [[Jonathan Agnew]] and [[Brian Johnston]], commentators on [[BBC Radio]]'s ''[[Test Match Special]]'', got themselves into difficulty while commentating on [[Ian Botham]]'s dismissal (Botham dislodged his leg bail whilst trying to step over the stumps, having lost his balance in missing a [[hook shot]] against [[Curtly Ambrose]]), Agnew commenting that he "couldn't quite get his leg over".[http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/sport/bestcommentary "Leg over"] ''[[BBC Radio Five Live]]''

The most crucial hit-wicket dismissal in Test history was arguably that of [[Graeme Smith]] at Trent Bridge in 2003: Smith had made 277 (South Africa's highest ever Test innings) and 85 from 70 balls at Edgbaston, and 259 at Lord's, as South Africa dominated the first two Tests of the series. In the third, Smith was on 35 when he played back to [[Andrew Flintoff]] and trod on his stumps. His form shattered, he did not reach 20 again in the series as England fought back for a morale-boosting 2-2 series draw, a result which marked the start of a resurgence which would ultimately lead to the [[2005 Ashes]] victory.

A more recent example of a comic hit-wicket dismissal was when the Pakistan captain [[Inzamam-ul-Haq]] was given out hit wicket when he missed a sweep against [[Monty Panesar]], was hit in the midriff by the ball, lost his balance and collapsed on to his stumps (and into wicket-keeper [[Chris Read]]) during the [[Headingley cricket ground|Headingley]] test match in the [[Pakistani cricket team in England in 2006|2006 test series]] between [[England cricket team|England]] and [[Pakistani cricket team|Pakistan]].[http://content-www.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/255913.html Cricinfo - Comedy of errors]

===Law 36 : [[Leg before wicket]] (LBW)===

If the ball strikes any part of the batsman's person (not necessarily the leg), and, in the [[Umpire (cricket)|umpire]]'s judgement, the ball would have hit the batsman's stumps but for this interception, then the batsman is out. The point of impact must be within line with the batsman's stumps and the bowler's stumps if the batsman is playing a stroke. The batsman can be given out if the ball strikes him outside the off stump, if the ball would have hit the stumps and if the batsman is playing no stroke. The ball must not pitch outside the line of leg stump. Also, the ball cannot have made contact with the bat or glove before hitting the batsman.

===Law 37 : [[Obstructing the field]]===

If the batsman, by action or by words, obstructs a fielder, then he is out. However, a batsman is allowed to obstruct the view of a fielder by standing in front of him. He may also stand in between the fielder and the stumps. The rule intends to prevent batsman from interfering with a fielder by, for instance, pushing him. Also, a player may be given out if they deliberately hit a ball being thrown back to the keeper whilst being out of their crease, as happened to [[Inzamam-ul-Haq]] (see below).

Only one individual has ever been out ''obstructing the field'' in a Test match: England's [[Len Hutton]], playing against South Africa at [[The Oval]] in London in 1951, knocked a ball away from his stumps, but in doing so prevented the South African wicket-keeper [[Russell Endean]] from completing a catch.[http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/226675.html Cricinfo - Ten controversial dismissals] By coincidence, Endean was one of the few people to be given out ''handled the ball'' in a Test match (see above).

In one-day international cricket, three batsmen have been given out obstructing the field:
*[[Rameez Raja]] - for Pakistan v Australia in November 1987 (seeking a second run to complete his century off the final ball of the match and found short of the crease, Rameez blocked a fielder's return with his bat, being given out for 99)
*[[Mohinder Amarnath]] - for India v Sri Lanka in October 1989 (Amarnath pushed a ball away from his stumps)
*[[Inzamam-ul-Haq]] - for Pakistan v India in February 2006 (Inzamam blocked a fielder's return throw with his bat while short of the crease).

===Law 38 : [[Run out]]===

If a fielder uses the ball to remove the bails from either set of stumps whilst the batsmen are running between the [[wicket]]s (or otherwise away from the crease during the course of play), then the batsman (striker or non-striker) is out. The batsman nearest the set of stumps from which the bails were removed, but not actually in safe territory, is given out. If the batsman has any part of his body or his bat (if he's holding it) on the ground behind the line of the crease, then he cannot be run out (except if both batsmen are on the same side of a crease); frequently it is a close call whether or not a batsman ''gained his ground'' in this way before the bails were removed. (The difference between ''stumped'' and ''run out'' is that the wicketkeeper may stump a batsman who goes too far forward to play the ball, while any fielder, including the keeper, may run out a batsman who goes too far for any other purpose, including for taking a run.) If the bails have already been removed, a fielder can remove a remaining stump by pulling it out with the ball in their hands. A fielder can also "remake" the stumps and remove a stump/bail to effect a runout.

A special form of run-out is when the batsman at the [[non-striker]]'s end attempts to gain an advantage by leaving the crease before the next ball has been bowled (a common practice known as "backing up", but against the laws of cricket if the non-striker leaves his crease before the bowler has released the ball). The bowler may then dislodge the bails at his/her end without completing the [[run-up]] and dismiss the batsman. This form of run-out is called the Mankad (the dismissed batsman is said to have been "Mankaded"), in reference to [[Vinoo Mankad]], the first bowler to dismiss a batsman in this manner in a Test match, running out [[Bill Brown (cricketer)|Bill Brown]] in 1947. With the changes in the Laws of Cricket relatively recently a bowler cannot Mankad a batsman once he enters his delivery stride. It is considered etiquette to warn a batsman that he is leaving his crease early, before attempting a Mankad run out on a subsequent ball.

A run out cannot occur if no fielder has touched the ball. As such, if a straight drive breaks the non-striker's stumps while he is backing up, he his not out; however, if a fielder (usually the bowler, in this case) touches the ball at all before it breaks the stumps, then it is a run out, even if the fielder never has any control of the ball.

===Law 39 : Stumped===

If the striker steps in front of the [[crease (cricket)|crease]] to play the ball, leaving no part of his anatomy or the bat on the ground behind the crease, and the [[wicket-keeper]] is able to remove the bails from the wicket with the ball, then the striker is out. A stumping is most likely to be effected off slow bowling, or (less frequently) medium-paced bowling when the wicketkeeping is standing directly behind the stumps. As wicket-keepers stand several yards back from the stumps to fast bowlers, and as batsmen are less likely to play fast bowlers by moving out of the crease, stumpings are hardly ever effected off fast bowlers. But a keeper may throw down the stumps and the batsman is still out stumped if he out of his ground, but not attempting a run. Similarly, the ball can bounce off a keeper (but not external non-usual wicketkeeping protective equipment, like a helmet) and break the stumps and still be considered a stumping.

''See [[Stump (cricket)|stump]] for more information.''