# Scoring and Extras · Cricket Level 1: Beginner

Cricket · Level 1: Beginner · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/cricket/level-1/scoring-and-extras/)

Scoring and Extras in Cricket (Level 1: Beginner) on Insporta: 50 sourced facts behind 5 tests. Covers: running between the wickets; four and six; and more.

This sub-level teaches how runs are made off the bat by running between the wickets; the four and the six; the no-ball and the wide, why each is re-bowled and worth a penalty run; byes and leg-byes; and which extras are charged to the bowler and which are not.

## Test 1: Running between the wickets

- A run counts only when each batter has reached the far end and made his ground behind the popping crease. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18)
- An odd number of runs leaves the batters at opposite ends from where they started, so the other batter now faces. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18)
- A batter out of his ground when the wicket is fairly broken is run out, no matter who called him back. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38)
- If a batter fails to ground bat or body behind the line before turning, that one run is not counted. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18)
- The batter's "ground" is the area behind the popping-crease line; on the line or short of it, he is at risk. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30)
- Running the first run at full pace, bat outstretched, buys the time to come back for a second. (Source: General batting principle)
- The batter with the clearer view calls: the striker for balls in front of the wicket, the non-striker for balls behind. (Source: General batting convention)
- A non-striker out of his ground before the bowler's normal release point can be run out by the bowler. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38)
- Overthrows are added to the runs already run, so two run plus a four equals six from that delivery. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- Batters can run as many as they dare while the ball is in play; it is dead once it settles with a fielder and the action is over. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 20)

## Test 2: Four and six

- A ball that reaches the boundary along the ground, however many times it bounced, is four runs. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- Six is awarded when the ball clears the boundary on the full; if it bounces first, it is only four. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- Bouncing on the way does not change anything: a hit that reaches the rope on the ground is worth four. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- A ball that clears the boundary on the full is six, whether it lands a metre or fifty metres beyond it. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- When the ball goes to the boundary along the ground, the batting side takes the boundary value, not the runs already run. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- Both arms raised overhead signals six; a single arm swept across the body signals four. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2)
- Runs off the bat are added to the no-ball penalty, so a six off a no-ball is worth seven. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- If a fielder in contact with the ball touches or crosses the boundary, it counts as a boundary hit. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- The ball crossed the boundary on the full before striking the screen, so it is a six. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19)
- With limited overs, T20 batters attack hard and hit over the top; a Test batter usually values his wicket more. (Source: General playing principle)

## Test 3: What makes a delivery a no-ball

- Some part of the front foot must land behind the popping crease; landing wholly beyond it is a front-foot no-ball. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- A fast full toss above waist height, a "beamer", is a no-ball because it is dangerous to the batter. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- A ball that pitches more than once, or rolls along the ground, before reaching the batter is a no-ball. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- The bowling arm must not be straightened in the delivery swing; a thrown ball is an illegal delivery and a no-ball. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- Since a 1981 incident, underarm bowling is a no-ball unless it was specifically agreed before the match. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- No more than two fielders may stand behind square on the leg side at the moment of delivery; a third is a no-ball. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28)
- Some part of the front foot has to be behind the line; on the line, with nothing behind it, is a no-ball. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)
- In white-ball internationals a no-ball brings a free hit, off which the striker cannot be bowled, caught or LBW. (Source: ICC Playing Conditions (free hit))
- Hitting the stumps is a bowled dismissal, and bowled is one of the modes a free hit rules out. (Source: ICC Playing Conditions (free hit))
- Forcing the bowler to keep part of his foot behind the crease stops him stealing ground and gaining an unfair edge. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21)

## Test 4: What makes a delivery a wide

- A wide is a ball out of reach of a normal stroke from where the batter is standing. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- White-ball playing conditions call leg-side and off-side wides strictly, to discourage negative bowling. (Source: ICC Playing Conditions (wides))
- If a normal stroke was possible, choosing to leave the ball does not turn it into a wide. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- The umpire judges reach from where the batter actually stands, so his own movement can make a ball fair. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- Any contact with the batter or bat cancels a wide; runs then taken would be leg-byes if a shot or evasion was attempted. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- A ball that passes out of reach over the batter's head is a wide in most playing conditions. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- Every run from a wide delivery is scored as a wide, so one plus four equals five wides. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- Each wide is a run to the batting side and an extra delivery to bowl, both of which hurt a bowler under pressure. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)
- Both arms held out horizontally is the wide signal; the raised hand is a bye and the tapped knee a leg-bye. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2)
- A delivery is a no-ball or a wide, never both, and the no-ball call overrides the wide. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22)

## Test 5: Byes, leg-byes and the extras column

- A bye comes off a ball that beats the bat and the body entirely and is then run. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23)
- A leg-bye comes off the striker's body, most often the pads, and is then run. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23)
- Leg-byes need a genuine attempt to play a shot or to get out of the way; otherwise they are disallowed. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23)
- With no attempt to play or avoid the ball, leg-byes are not allowed and the runs are cancelled. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23)
- Wides and no-balls, and any runs off them, are charged to the bowler; byes and leg-byes are not. (Source: General scoring convention)
- Byes and leg-byes are the keeper's or the batters' doing, so the total rises but no bowler is charged. (Source: General scoring convention)
- A ball that beats everything and reaches the boundary is four byes, whether or not the batters actually ran. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23)
- Runs made off the bat belong to the striker; only runs off the body or a beaten keeper become extras. (Source: General scoring convention)
- A ball hitting a fielding-side helmet on the ground brings five penalty runs to the batting side. (Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28)
- Extras are runs like any other and form part of the team total; a heavy extras count often swings a close match. (Source: General scoring convention)

Sources: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022) for the mechanics of play; ICC Playing Conditions for international format and officiating detail, which override the Laws where they differ; ESPNcricinfo and Wisden for history, records and governance. Questions are authored from these sources, not reproduced from them.

Take the tests: https://insporta.app/try?utm_source=book&utm_medium=referral