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Cricket · Level 2: Elementary · Sub-level 2.1

Bowling Laws

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

This sub-level teaches what makes a delivery fair or a no-ball in practice — the front-foot and back-foot rules of the delivery stride, an illegal bowling action, the dangerous full toss and the height rule, and the limit on short-pitched bowling; how an over is finished when a bowler cannot; and what makes the ball dead. It also covers the finer points of the wide, bowling over or round the wicket, the other ways to bowl a no-ball, and the protected area of the pitch.

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 1The front foot and the back footTake a test

  1. Part of the front foot, whether grounded or in the air, must be behind the popping-crease line.

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

  2. Some part of the foot behind the line, even a fraction, makes the delivery legal.

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

  3. The front-foot rule looks only at where the front foot lands, whatever the back foot did on the way.

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

  4. The delivery stride is the final stride, in which the back foot lands and then the front foot; the foot rules apply to it.

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

  5. The back foot has to land within the return crease and not cut the line; touching or outside it is a no-ball.

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

  6. Either foot fault is enough on its own, so the back foot cutting the return crease is a no-ball.

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

  7. The standing umpire at the bowler's end judges the feet and makes the call as the ball is bowled.

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

  8. ICC playing conditions have the TV umpire check the front foot every delivery and pass a no-ball to the on-field umpire.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (front-foot no-ball technology) · applied

  9. A no-ball exists only once it is called; an unnoticed overstep counts as a legal delivery.

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

  10. A loud, early call tells the striker the ball is effectively free, so he can attack it hard.

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

Test 2An illegal action — the throwTake a test

  1. Once the arm reaches shoulder height in the delivery swing, the elbow must not straighten before release; the ICC's measured tolerance for elite bowlers is a regulation laid over that Law.

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

  2. A throw is an illegal delivery and is called and signalled as a no-ball.

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

  3. Biomechanical studies found small amounts of straightening are near-universal and invisible, so 15 degrees is allowed.

    Source: ICC regulations on suspect bowling actions · recall

  4. A reported bowler has his action analysed in a lab; if it is over the limit he must correct it before bowling again.

    Source: ICC regulations on suspect bowling actions · applied

  5. From square leg the arm is seen side-on, which is the angle that shows an elbow straightening.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2 · applied

  6. Bowling with a bent arm is fine; it is straightening it in the delivery swing that makes a throw.

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

  7. The doosra, an off-spinner's ball that turns like a leg-break, is hard to bowl without straightening the arm.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  8. Muralitharan was called for throwing, then repeatedly tested; his action was found to be within the permitted range.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. A clearance is not permanent; a bowler whose action changes can be reported and tested again.

    Source: ICC regulations on suspect bowling actions · applied

  10. Straightening the elbow acts as a second lever, generating speed or spin a genuinely bowled ball cannot produce.

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

Test 3The dangerous full tossTake a test

  1. For a slow bowler the limit is shoulder height; for anything quicker it is the lower waist height.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  2. Slow full tosses carry less danger, so they are only a no-ball above the shoulder, not the waist.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  3. The reference is the batter standing normally at the crease, not wherever he happened to end up.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  4. Because the batter advanced, the height is assessed against his normal crease position, where it may be below the waist.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  5. A deliberate dangerous high full toss brings instant removal from the bowling attack for that innings.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  6. A non-deliberate dangerous full toss is a no-ball and a warning; a further one means removal from the attack.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  7. It is still a no-ball for scoring, so runs off the bat are added to the one-run penalty.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  8. "Beamer" is the term for a dangerous fast high full toss, always a no-ball and often a warning.

    Source: General cricket usage · recall

  9. Any full toss that would pass above the waist of an upright striker is unfair and is called no-ball, and a quick bowler's marginal one is given that way to keep the batter safe.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41; umpiring practice · applied

  10. A blow from a beamer is a safety matter, so the umpires make sure the batter is all right before play continues.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

Test 4Short-pitched bowlingTake a test

  1. A bowler may send down two fast short-pitched balls above shoulder height per over.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  2. The delivery that exceeds the two-per-over allowance is a no-ball.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  3. ICC raised the white-ball allowance to two per over, matching the number used in Test cricket.

    Source: ICC Playing Conditions (ODI and T20I) · recall

  4. A bouncer out of reach over the head is a wide, but it is still counted against the two-per-over allowance.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 22 and 41 · applied

  5. Persistent dangerous short-pitched bowling is dealt with by warnings and, if it goes on, removal from the attack.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  6. The two-per-over allowance resets at the start of every over.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  7. The second short ball of the over, if it is reachable, is a legal delivery.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  8. The counting rule is for fast short-pitched bowling; a slow bouncer is judged mainly on danger, not the count.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  9. A short ball above the shoulder is legal up to two an over, and ducking under it does not change that.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  10. After the warning, a further over-limit bouncer means the bowler is removed from the attack for the innings.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

Test 5The over in practiceTake a test

  1. The part-over resumes with the same bowler from the same end once play restarts.

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

  2. A team-mate completes the over from the same end, and he must not have bowled the previous over.

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

  3. Finishing a part-over counts against the consecutive-overs rule, so he cannot bowl the next one.

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

  4. Deliveries bowled in good faith count; only the arrangement is corrected from that point on.

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

  5. Balls already bowled stand; the error is put right by switching bowlers for the rest of the over.

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

  6. Nothing about a wicket or a break lets a bowler send down two overs in succession.

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

  7. A bowler sits out exactly one over; then he may bowl again from either end.

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

  8. Each bowler is credited only with the balls he sent down; the over is shared between them.

    Source: MCC scoring convention · applied

  9. Even a short attack has to be rotated so that no bowler delivers two overs back to back.

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

  10. When the innings ends, any incomplete over stops where it is.

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

Test 6The dead ballTake a test

  1. The ball is dead once it settles with the keeper or bowler and the umpire judges the action is over.

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

  2. A boundary, a completed dismissal, the ball lodging in kit and several other events all make the ball dead.

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

  3. No runs can be scored and no wicket can fall once the ball is dead.

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

  4. A ball lodged in a batter's or fielder's kit is dead, and no runs or wicket can follow.

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

  5. If the striker is distracted or not ready through no fault of his own, the umpire calls dead ball and the ball is re-bowled.

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

  6. Wrists crossed and uncrossed low in front of the body is the dead-ball signal.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2 · recall

  7. A no-ball and a wide are live deliveries; the striker can hit a no-ball, and runs can be taken off either.

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

  8. A completed dismissal is one of the events that makes the ball dead at once.

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

  9. The umpire calls dead ball for anything that stops fair play, such as an injury, and the ball is bowled again.

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

  10. Where there is doubt, the umpires judge when the ball finally settled and the action was over.

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

Test 7Wides: the finer pointsTake a test

  1. The 2017 code has the umpire consider both where the striker is and where he would be in his normal guard position.

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

  2. The umpire does not call wide if the striker, by moving, brings the ball within reach.

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

  3. Off a wide a batter cannot be bowled, caught or lbw, but he can be stumped, run out or out hit wicket.

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

  4. A wide does not count in the over, so the bowler has to bowl an extra ball.

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

  5. Wides, like most calls on the delivery itself, belong to the umpire at the bowler's end.

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

  6. White-ball wides are judged strictly, and the guide lines give the umpires a fixed reference.

    Source: ICC Men's Playing Conditions · applied

  7. White-ball playing conditions treat almost any ball passing down the leg side untouched as a wide.

    Source: ICC Men's Playing Conditions · applied

  8. A wide is called once the ball passes the striker's wicket, and signalled to the scorers when the ball is dead.

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

  9. If the ball then touches the striker's bat or person, the call of wide is revoked.

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

  10. The one-run wide penalty and the two runs taken are all recorded as wides.

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

Test 8Over the wicket and round the wicketTake a test

  1. Over the wicket, the bowling arm passes close to the stumps; round the wicket, it is on the far side.

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

  2. A bowler may change his mode at any time, but he must notify the umpire.

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

  3. Failing to notify a change of mode is a no-ball.

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

  4. The mode of delivery covers the bowling arm as well as over or round the wicket.

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

  5. The striker is entitled to know how the ball will come at him.

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

  6. Mode of delivery is the arm and the side of the wicket he bowls from.

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

  7. From round the wicket a right-arm bowler releases from the batter's leg side, so the ball angles across a right-hander towards the slips; it is a left-arm bowler round the wicket whose ball angles in at him.

    Source: General playing principle · applied

  8. The umpire passes on the notice of a change of mode to the striker.

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

  9. A change of mode may come at any point in an over, once it has been notified.

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

  10. Running in towards the batter with the stumps on his right, a right-armer's bowling arm passes nearer the stumps: over the wicket.

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

Test 9Other ways to bowl a no-ballTake a test

  1. A ball that bounces more than twice or rolls along the ground before the popping crease is a no-ball.

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

  2. Breaking the wicket at his own end while delivering the ball is a no-ball.

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

  3. It happens right in front of the bowler's-end umpire, whose call it is.

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

  4. A delivery is a single no-ball, however many reasons there are for it.

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

  5. A no-ball adds one run to the batting side, on top of any runs scored off it.

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

  6. A late call does not change the nature of the delivery.

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

  7. One arm extended horizontally is the no-ball signal.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2 · recall

  8. Throwing the ball towards the striker's end before entering the delivery stride is not a No ball: Law 21.4 sends the umpire to a Dead ball call with no penalty, and the ball does not count in the over.

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

  9. A ball that comes to rest in front of the striker's wicket is called no-ball and then dead ball.

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

  10. No fielder may be on or over the pitch from the moment the ball comes into play until it reaches the striker; if one is, it is a no-ball.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 28 · applied

Test 10The protected areaTake a test

  1. Bowlers running on the area where a good-length ball pitches would rough it up unfairly.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  2. The area is two feet wide in all: one foot either side of the line joining the middle stumps.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  3. It starts five feet (1.52 m) in front of each popping crease.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  4. The Laws define the area by imaginary lines; umpires judge it by eye.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  5. The offence is entering the area avoidably; following the ball for a catch is not.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  6. The bowler's-end umpire is right behind the follow-through.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · recall

  7. Batters damaging the pitch are warned first; only repeated offences bring a penalty.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  8. The bowler is cautioned, then given a final warning, and a further offence stops him bowling for the rest of the innings.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  9. The protected area starts 1.52 m beyond the popping crease and runs on past the middle.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

  10. The strip either side of the line between the middle stumps, starting 1.52 m from each popping crease, is the protected area.

    Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41 · applied

Sources

MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022) for the Laws themselves; ICC Playing Conditions per format for the officiating and regulation detail that overrides the Laws in international cricket (DRS, powerplays, over rates, concussion replacements, the free hit); ESPNcricinfo for recent changes such as the soft-signal retirement. Questions are authored from these sources, not reproduced from them.

  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 2129
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 4126
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 1710
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 209
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 227
  • ICC regulations on suspect bowling actions3
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 23
  • ESPNcricinfo2
  • ICC Men's Playing Conditions2
  • ICC Playing Conditions (front-foot no-ball technology)1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 21 (rationale)1
  • General cricket usage1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 41; umpiring practice1
  • ICC Playing Conditions (ODI and T20I)1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Laws 22 and 411
  • MCC scoring convention1
  • General playing principle1
  • MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 281