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Cricket · Level 1: Beginner · Sub-level 1.2

Ways of Getting Out

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 12 October 2026 · markdown

This sub-level teaches the ways a batter can be dismissed — bowled and caught as the everyday ones, LBW explained as three plain questions, run out and stumped, hit wicket, and the rare modes; that the fielding side must appeal before an umpire can give anyone out, that the umpire decides, and what happens once a wicket has fallen. It also covers the finer points of a catch, which wickets go to the bowler and which only to the team, how a dismissal is written on a scorecard, and how to tell which batter is run out.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1Bowled and caughtTake a test

  1. Bowled means the delivery hits the wicket and dislodges a bail; a near miss or a take by the keeper is not it.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 32 · recall

  2. Bowled still counts when the ball deflects off the bat or body on its way to the stumps.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 32 · applied

  3. Only contact with the bat, or a glove on the hand holding it, allows a catch; the ball must not have hit the ground.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · recall

  4. A fielder in contact with the ball must not touch the boundary; if he does, the hit is six, not a catch.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 19 · applied

  5. A catch by the keeper is still "caught" and still the bowler's wicket, noted as "caught behind".

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  6. A fair catch needs the ball not to have touched the ground; a "bump ball" that bounces first is not out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  7. Caught is the single commonest mode of dismissal, with bowled and lbw following behind, so caught and bowled together take the large majority.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  8. The one thing that matters on a low catch is "carry" — whether the ball reached the hands before the ground.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  9. Law 32.2 says the striker is out Bowled even if another dismissal would also be justified, and Law 33.5 gives Caught the next precedence; so when several modes apply, Bowled is the one recorded.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 32 · recall

  10. Leaving the ball changes nothing; if the delivery removes a bail, the batter is bowled.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 32 · applied

Test 2LBW in plain termsTake a test

LBW and where the ball pitches: outside off, in line, outside legA cricket pitch seen from above, the bowler's end on the left and the striker's stumps on the right; the off side of the right-handed batter is at the top and the leg side at the bottom. A shaded band marks the line between the two wickets. Three balls pitch level with each other, one outside off stump, one in line and one outside leg stump, and each travels on toward the batter's pads. The outside-leg path is drawn in lime and marked never out.RHBOUTSIDE OFF STUMPIN LINE WITH THE STUMPSOUTSIDE LEG STUMPNEVER OUTOFF SIDELEG SIDE
LBW and where the ball pitches: outside off, in line, outside leg. A ball that pitches outside leg stump can never bring an LBW; one that pitches in line or outside off can, if it would go on to hit the stumps.SVG

  1. Leg before wicket: the batter's leg or body has stopped a ball that was going on to hit the stumps.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · recall

  2. Pitching, the point of impact and the projected path to the stumps are the three things the umpire weighs.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · recall

  3. A delivery that lands outside leg stump can never bring an LBW, wherever it then strikes the batter.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  4. Impact outside off stump is out only when the batter offered no stroke; otherwise he is not out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  5. If the ball touches the bat before the pad, LBW cannot be given, whatever the ball would have done next.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  6. Even with legal pitching and impact, a ball shown to be clearing the stumps is not an LBW.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  7. Pitched in line, struck in line, no shot offered, and hitting the stumps: a straightforward LBW.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  8. Without LBW a batter could simply block every straight ball with the legs; the Law makes that a dismissal.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · recall

  9. The further from the stumps the impact, the less certain the projection, so a well-forward strike is doubted.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 36 · applied

  10. Where the Decision Review System is in use, a player review lets ball-tracking check the projected path.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (Decision Review System) · applied

Test 3Run out and stumpedTake a test

Making your ground: bat grounded behind the popping crease against bat on the lineClose-up of the striker's end of a cricket pitch, the stumps on the right and the popping crease drawn in lime 1.22 m in front of them; the batter's ground behind the crease is shaded. A throw comes in along the pitch as two batters slide their bats toward the line: the upper one has the bat grounded behind the line and is safe, the lower one has the bat only on the line and is out if the wicket is broken.THE BATTER'S GROUNDGROUNDED BEHIND THE LINE: SAFEON THE LINE: OUT
Making your ground: bat grounded behind the popping crease against bat on the line. The crease line is not part of the batter's ground: bat or body grounded behind it is safe when the wicket is broken; on the line is out.SVG

  1. A run out turns on the batter being out of his ground, that is not behind the crease line, when the wicket is put down.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38 · recall

  2. The thrown ball may break the wicket on its own, so a direct hit is a valid run out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38 · applied

  3. Run out is not credited to any bowler, so the bowler's figures do not change.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  4. Only one batter can be safe in a ground; whoever belongs to the broken, empty end is the one run out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38 · applied

  5. A stumping is the keeper putting the wicket down with the striker out of his ground and not running.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 39 · recall

  6. Beaten and out of his ground with no run attempted, and the keeper doing it: that is a stumping.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 39 · applied

  7. Once the batter is trying to run, the same act is a run out rather than a stumping, and any fielder may do it.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 39 · applied

  8. A stumping counts as the bowler's wicket; a run out is credited to no bowler.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  9. Once bat or body has been grounded behind the line, a moment of lifting it to turn does not put the batter out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30 · applied

  10. Both need the batter out of his ground when the wicket is put down; every other detail differs.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 38 and 39 · recall

Test 4Hit wicket, and the rare ways outTake a test

  1. Hit wicket covers the striker dislodging a bail with bat, pad, body or kit while playing or starting to run.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 35 · recall

  2. Breaking the wicket with the bat while playing the shot is hit wicket; the path of the ball is beside the point.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 35 · applied

  3. Obstructing the field is a deliberate act by the batter, in word or action, to hinder the fielding side.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 37 · recall

  4. Deliberately getting in the way of a fielder's attempt to run him out is obstructing the field.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 37 · applied

  5. An incoming batter must be ready to take strike within the set time, or he can be given timed out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 40 · recall

  6. A deliberate second strike is permitted solely to protect the wicket, never to make runs.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 34 · recall

  7. Interfering with the fielding side's attempt to field the ball is obstructing the field, however desperate.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 37 · applied

  8. Caught is far and away the commonest; timed out and hit the ball twice are extreme rarities.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. Timed out is a genuine mode of dismissal that is simply applied very seldom.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

  10. Bowled, caught and LBW arise from everyday play; the rare modes need an unusual act or a long delay.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Test 5The appealTake a test

  1. "No appeal, no wicket": the umpire rules on a dismissal only when the fielding side asks.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · recall

  2. "How's that?", often shortened to "Howzat", is the recognised form of an appeal to the umpire.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · recall

  3. With no bail removed there is no bowled dismissal, and with no appeal the umpire would not give one anyway.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · applied

  4. The appeal must come before the next delivery's run-up, or before "time" if it is the last ball.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · recall

  5. An umpire in doubt on a point the other umpire may have seen better consults him before giving the decision; only if doubt remains after that is the answer not out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · applied

  6. A batter who is genuinely dismissed may leave the field without an appeal or an umpire's decision.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · applied

  7. An appeal can be withdrawn with the umpire's permission, provided the batter has not yet left the wicket.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · recall

  8. One appeal invites the umpire to rule on any mode of dismissal that might apply to that delivery.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 31 · applied

  9. The Decision Review System lets each side refer a set number of decisions to the television umpire.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (Decision Review System) · recall

  10. DRS is an ICC playing-conditions feature for top-level cricket; the Laws themselves do not include it.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (Decision Review System) · recall

Test 6When a wicket fallsTake a test

  1. The ball becomes dead as soon as a batter is dismissed, so nothing else can happen on that delivery.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 20 · recall

  2. A run out is not the bowler's wicket, so his figures record the runs but no dismissal.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  3. The time allowed is short, and failing to be ready in it can bring a timed-out dismissal.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 40 · recall

  4. A wicket does not reset the over; the same bowler completes the remaining balls once play resumes.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 17 · applied

  5. Since the 2022 edition, Law 18.11 sends the not-out batter back to his original end after a Caught dismissal, so the new batter takes strike unless the catch ended the over.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 25 · applied

  6. Catches account for the largest share of dismissals in every format of the game.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  7. A no-ball rules out bowled, caught, LBW, stumped and hit wicket; run out and a few others remain possible.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21 · applied

  8. A dismissed batter keeps every run he made; the card records his score, how he was out, and off which bowler.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  9. Run outs and similar modes take wickets without ever showing up in a bowler's figures.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  10. Timed out, obstructing the field and hit the ball twice each require something out of the ordinary to happen.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Test 7Caught: the fine printTake a test

  1. A catch is still fair if the ball has touched an umpire, another fielder or the other batter on the way.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  2. A catch needs the ball to have come off the bat or the glove on the bat hand; off the pad alone it cannot be caught.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  3. Off a no-ball a batter cannot be bowled, caught, LBW, stumped or out hit wicket.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21 · applied

  4. A catch is complete from the moment the fielder has complete control over both the ball and his own movement.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · recall

  5. A catch may come off another fielder before it is held; the fielder who completes it is the one credited.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  6. A ball may be juggled between fielders; the catch stands as long as it never touches the ground or the ground beyond the boundary.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  7. Only a bounce after the ball leaves the bat spoils a catch; the bowler's delivery is meant to pitch.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  8. In international cricket the on-field umpires may refer a fair-catch question to the third umpire, who studies the replays.

    Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · applied

  9. Off the bat first and then the pad, the ball can still be caught: it has been hit by the bat.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

  10. Since 2017 a catch is fair even if the ball has hit a helmet worn by a fielder; gully completed it, so he is credited.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 33 · applied

Test 8The bowler's wickets and the team'sTake a test

  1. Bowled, caught, LBW, stumped and hit wicket go to the bowler; the other modes are wickets for the team only.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  2. Timed out is a team wicket: no delivery had anything to do with it.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  3. A batter may be stumped off a wide, and a stumping is always a wicket for the bowler.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 39 · applied

  4. The two run outs are team wickets, so the bowlers share the other eight.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  5. A run out comes from the fielding side's work after the delivery, so it is not part of the bowler's figures.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  6. A batter who retires for a reason other than injury or illness and does not resume with the opposing captain's consent is retired out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 25 · applied

  7. A stumping is written 'st (keeper) b (bowler)': the keeper is named and the wicket is the bowler's.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  8. Every mode listed counts except the run outs: four, three, two and one wickets.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  9. A batter who retires through injury may resume his innings at the fall of a wicket or the retirement of another batter.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 25 · applied

  10. Ward is the bowler in 'c Hill b Ward' and 'lbw b Ward'; the run out is a team wicket and the stumping is Ali's.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

Test 9Reading dismissals on a scorecardTake a test

  1. A bare 'b' followed by a name means bowled by that bowler.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  2. The name after 'c' is the catcher and the name after 'b' is the bowler.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  3. 'c & b' is caught and bowled: the bowler took the catch himself.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  4. Hit wicket is written with the bowler's name, since the wicket is credited to him.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  5. No bowler is named for a run out; the fielders who effected it are shown in brackets.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  6. Scorecards mark the wicket-keeper with a dagger and the captain with (c) or an asterisk.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  7. An LBW goes down with the bowler named, because he gets the credit for that dismissal.

    Source: General scoring convention · recall

  8. A dismissal line gives the mode and fielder first, then the bowler, then the runs.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  9. The usual card reads R, B, 4s, 6s and SR, with minutes batted sometimes shown after the balls.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

  10. 'st' is stumped, which only the wicket-keeper can do: Shaw stumped Patel off Rao.

    Source: General scoring convention · applied

Test 10Run outs: who is out, and what countsTake a test

  1. Once the batters have crossed, the ground at each end belongs to the batter running towards it.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30 · applied

  2. Until they cross, each batter's ground is still the end he left, so the striker is out at the striker's end.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30 · applied

  3. Runs completed before the run out stand; the run being attempted when the wicket fell does not count.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18 · applied

  4. A run out can happen off a no-ball, and the one-run penalty for the no-ball still counts.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21 · applied

  5. A wide is not dead: the batters may run, and they can be run out while doing so.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 22 · applied

  6. Any fielder may put the wicket down for a run out, including the bowler and the wicket-keeper.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 38 · recall

  7. The not-out batter keeps the end he made good, and the new batter takes the vacant end.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18 · applied

  8. The completed run stands even though a batter is run out attempting the next one.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 18 · applied

  9. The batter out is the one whose ground is at the end where the wicket was put down.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30 · applied

  10. They have crossed, so the top end is now B's ground: B, nearer it and running towards it, is run out.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 30 · applied

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.

  • General scoring convention23
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 3311
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 369
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 318
  • ESPNcricinfo6
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 305
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 324
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 384
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 394
  • ICC Playing Conditions (Decision Review System)3
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 373
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 253
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 213
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 183
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 352
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 402
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 191
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 38 and 391
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 341
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 201
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 171
  • ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 221