This article will talk about all of cricket’s rules, how many there are, and what they mean. There is some basic information here for casual fans as well as more in-depth info for hard core enthusiasts!
There are five main categories of rule in cricket.
Run-out rule
The run out is one of the most fundamental rules in cricket. It happens when a player is close to or has crossed the boundary line before being caught off their own ball.
The umpire signals for a run, so the batsman must quickly pick up his bat and go after the man at cover who will throw it to him. If he does not, then he will be awarded two runs and the batting side will get an extra six balls to score as many points as possible.
However, if the fielder behind the wicket makes a good stop by catching the runner just outside the field of play, then it is considered a legal drop and there are no consequences. This is because it was impossible to tell whether the runner would have been able to reach the boundary without going beyond the field of play.
Leg-volley rule
The leg-volley rule is one of the most controversial rules in cricket. It was first implemented at international level during the 2007 World Cup, when it was introduced for One Day Internationals (ODIs). Since then, it has been fully legalized as an official law of the game!
The rule states that if the batsman hits his own ball with his foot before striking the ground with his lower body, he will be awarded a run out by way of the batter being deemed to have lost their wicket due to overrunning the striker.
Leg-side rule
The leg-side rule is one of the most confusing rules in cricket. It seems simple, but can be very tricky to apply correctly depending on the situation. This article will go into detail about this rule and what situations it applies in.
The basics
In cricket there are three types of wicket – back, front, and middle. A back wicket means that the ball would bounce high off the pitch and therefore not result in a run or a loss of time. A front wicket means that the ball would either hit the stumps or the batsman’s foot and so could result in a dismissal or at least an interruption of play. A middle wicket means that the ball would roll away from the batsman and his feet and so cannot result in a win or a loss for your team.
A leg side (or away) wicket is when the bails break down and the wickets fall. When this happens the player must drop their bat and pick up a new one before they can start again. Depending on how quickly they do this after the wicket has fallen you can get different results!
If the dropped bat hits the ground first then it becomes impossible to continue playing the game. You have to begin the process over again with a new bat and fielders. If the bat does not make contact with the ground immediately then you can rerun some steps of the chase.
Stumping rule
The stumps are what gives cricket its name. You can probably tell from the word that there is not much for players to do with the ball once it hits them off their own side of the pitch. However, before the ball even comes close to hitting the ground, batsmen have one job-stay out of range!
The reason for this is because if the bowler does manage to hit the stump, then he will lose his wicket and be forced to run up to the other end of the field to retrieve the ball or just drop a new replacement down. If the bails come off in this case, then play will continue until the lost ball is returned or the game ends.
But why is staying in the middle so important? It takes time to get ready when the team is batting and a player needs to get into position before the next person can go at the bat. By being in place ahead of the batter, they give themselves enough time to prepare and know that someone has been left behind to keep watch over them.
Ducking rule
The ducking or diving rule is one of the trickiest to understand in cricket. It comes into play when there is disagreement over whether a ball was hit out of the field, or if it went down due to an error.
It can be pretty tricky to determine who is right about this! If you are watching TV or listening to the game live, chances are someone will call the other team’s player “diving” or “ducking”.
But what does that mean? Is he really cheating by doing so? And how strict is the rule about hitting the ground with your hands or feet? These things all factor into determining whether the duffer gets penalized or not.
There have been many examples where players have clearly dove for a ball, but got away without any action being taken against them. This happens more than people realize.
Fielding rule
The field is divided into three zones – close, middle and far side. For a throw to be legal it must happen in the zone that starts one foot away from where the ball comes down and extends two feet past the boundary line.
A run can’t start more than five yards outside your own half-field (the area within 50 metres of each goal) and a player can’t go more than 30 yards forward before he or she touches the ground.
That last part isn’t very clear cut as there are some interpretations about what constitutes a touch. Technically if a batsman steps out with his right leg and then uses his hands to push himself forwards, that’s not considered a ‘touch’. But most referees agree that unless they’re holding onto something else first, stepping forward with an arm or hand is a deliberate action so it is treated as a touch.
If you’ve ever seen a cricket match you’ll know that when a fielder jumps up to catch a high ball they don’t just flail around at random, instead they stick their hands in every possible position and sometimes even behind them! So getting hit by a high shot is usually expected but depending how quickly they move and whether their momentum takes them closer to or further away from the pitch could result in a penalty.
Leg-trap rule
The leg-trap rule is one of the few rules in cricket that actually seems to matter! This rule was introduced back in 1934, when Australia were playing South Africa at Adelaide Oval.
A player behind the stumps can’t touch the wicket with their foot or leg while they are crouching down to catch the ball. If they do this it is called ‘trapping the wicket’ and if you have done it as a batsman then you will know how annoying it can be for the bowler!
This has happened only five times in Test matches since the rule was first implemented. Only once did it result in a dismissal though, where an Australian trapped the wicket during their side’s innings in England in 2010. They escaped without punishment because the umpire didn’t see what had happened.
In fact, there is no conclusive proof whether or not trapping the wicket really is a bad thing. Some say it helps prevent bowlers getting out by bailing off too early but others argue that it gives them more time to re-settle before trying to hit the next ball.
Leg-side catch
A leg-side run is stopped with the fielders using their legs to stop it. If a player tries to dive or jump across, this is called a ‘leg-side catch’. It is not allowed because the runner has been stopped by an object and that is against the rules.
If you watch cricket live you will have seen many examples of a leg-side run being caught out like this. In fact, some say it happens so often in the game that it becomes boring!
Many people assume that there are only two types of catches in cricket: drop-catch where a ball drops down off a bat, edge-throw where the batter runs forward and throws his hands towards the ground, and slip-catches where the fielder slides along the turf and gets a hand under the bouncing ball.
However, these three types of catching are actually just part of one rule. There is another type of catch which can be made when a bowler bowls a short pitched delivery and then steps back before releasing the ball. This is known as a ‘back-foot throw’.
The batsman trying to score must make sure they do not go past the pitch line when running after the ball. They cannot merely take a few paces and then try to reach up and grab it, as that would be a bad shot.
