Dismissal (cricket)
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In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out (also known as taking a wicket)
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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 only "gets credit" for 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 batsman can, however, be out run out, handled the ball, hit the ball twice, obstructing the field, or timed out on any ball.
Law 9(b) : Retired
If any batsman leaves the field of play without the Umpire's consent for any reason other than injury or incapacity and fails to resume his innings, he recorded as being Retired - out.
Only two players in Test history have ever been given out in this manner, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene - both in the same match playing for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in September 2001.
Law 30 : Bowled
If a bowler's delivery hits the stumps and dislodges a bail, 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 out bowled if the ball is touched by a fielder before hitting the stumps.
Law 31 : Timed out
If a new player takes more than three minutes to enter the field of play after the previous batsman was ruled out, then the new player is out. 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.
Law 32 : Caught
If the striker strikes the ball with the bat and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground, then the striker is out.
"Caught behind" indicates that a player was caught by the wicket-keeper.
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.
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, most recently, Michael Vaughan).
Law 34 : Hit the ball twice
If the batsman hits the ball twice, he is out. But the second hit must be an actual hit: the batsman may stop the ball a second time with his bat; this action is often performed to stop the ball from hitting the stumps.
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, 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.
Law 36 : Leg before wicket (LBW)
If the ball strikes any part of the batsman's anatomy (not necessarily the leg), and, in the umpire's judgement, the ball would have hit the batsman's stumps had his anatomy not intervened, then the batsman is out. There are some subtleties, however, to do with where the ball pitches (bounces), whether the batsman intentionally hit the ball with his body or attempted to play a legitimate stroke with the bat, and exactly where it hits the batsman in relation to the line of the stumps. In any case, if it seems that the ball would not have struck the stumps, the batsman is not out.
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.
Only one individual has ever been out obstructing the field in a Test match (when England's Len Hutton in 1951, playing against South Africa at The Oval in London, prevented the South Africans from catching him whilst knocking the ball away from his stumps).
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 wickets (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.)
Law 39 : Stumped
If the striker steps in front of the 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.
See stump for more information.
See also
External links
- The Laws of Cricket (http://www.lords.org/cricket/laws.asp)