Basic Laws of Cricket

Understanding The Game Of Cricket
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C r i c k e t A u s t r a l i a O r i e n t a t i o n T o C o a c h i n g C o u r s e B o o k l e t C r i c k e t A u s t r a l i a O r i e n t a t i o n T o C o a c h i n g C o u r s e B o o k l e t
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Basic Laws
The Laws of Cricket date back as far as 1744 in their earliest form and were most recently updated
in May 2000 (with further revisions in 2003). The new Code of Laws contains 42 separate Laws
and also includes a Preamble defining the Spirit of Cricket. Although desirable, it is not compulsory
for a coach at this level to have an intimate knowledge of all 42 Laws. However, a summary of
some of the most common and important Laws is provided for reference.
Law 1 The Players
A cricket match is normally played between two teams of 11 players with each team nominating a
captain before the start of the match.
Law 3 The Umpires
As a coach you will often be required to umpire in a match. You should have a good understanding
of the signals to be used by umpires. These signals are represented below.
Law 18 A run is generally scored when
either a boundary is scored or when both
batters have crossed and made good their
ground from end to end. As umpire, you
should be aware of the various ways the
batting team can score runs and know
how to signal them.
Law 22 The Over
An over consists of 6 legal deliveries. In
most forms of cricket, if either a wide or a
No Ball is bowled the delivery needs to be
re-bowled. After 6 balls are bowled the
umpire shall call and signal over.
Law 24 No Ball
There are a number of ways a bowler can bowl a No Ball but the two most common are the front
foot No Ball and a delivery that reaches the batter above the waist without hitting the pitch.
A bowlers front foot must land with some part of the foot, whether grounded or raised, behind
the popping crease. If it does not, the umpire should call and signal No Ball.
Law 25 Wide Ball
The umpire will call and signal a Wide Ball if the ball is not sufficiently within reach of the batter
so that he or she is able to hit the ball with a normal cricket stroke.
NB. For both a No Ball and a Wide Ball the bowler must (generally) re-bowl the ball.
Understanding The Game Of Cricket
Law 26 Bye and Leg Bye
If the ball passes the batter without either hitting him/her or the bat and the batters have crossed
for run/s the runs shall be credited to the batting side as Byes.
If the ball strikes the batter on any part of his/her body (and he is trying to hit it) and the batters
cross for a run/s, the runs shall be credited to the batting side as Leg byes.
Methods of Dismissal
There are 10 different ways a batter can be dismissed in a cricket match, albeit that some are rarely
experienced. The most common methods of dismissal are bowled, caught, Leg Before Wicket and
Run Out. The others are as follows:
Timed Out
Handled the Ball
Hit the Ball Twice
Hit the Wicket
Obstructing the Field
Stumped
Definitions of the four most common ways of getting out are:
Run out a batter shall be out run-out unless his/her bat or some part of his/her person is
grounded behind the popping crease at the end where the bails are dislodged.
Bowled the striker is out bowled if his/her wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler
(not a No Ball) even if it first touches his/her bat or person.
Caught the striker is out caught if a ball delivered by the bowler, not being a No Ball, touches
his/her bat and is subsequently held by a fielder as a fair catch before it touches the ground.
Leg Before Wicket (LBW) a batter shall be out LBW if in the opinion of the umpire the ball first hits
the batter on the pads or person and is going on to hit the stumps. There are exceptions to this
such as the ball first pitching outside leg stump, or the batter playing a shot when the ball pitches
outside off stump and being hit on the pads or person whilst still outside off stump. In both these
situations the batter cannot be given out even if the ball is going on to hit the stumps.
Law 42 Fair and Unfair Play
The umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play and so should be aware of the content of
Law 42.
NOTE: The Laws of Cricket (2000 Code 2nd Edition 2003) are the official Laws as they apply to the
games of cricket played by adults. The Cricket Australia Junior policy document defines the rules for
playing modified cricket for younger players.

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Understanding The Game Of Cricket

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