Cricket Rules: Fouls and Consequate Penalties

Fouls and Penalties Explained

 

Rules... What are they really?  

Some seem unfair, especially when you're at the non-favourable receiving end of one. They are not a fun topic yet they are the principles on which the entirety of sport is built on.

 

You can't have sport without rules. After all, the winner in any sport is the team/individual that outperforms the other whilst in adherence to the rules that govern how the sport is played. 

 

Rules in cricket are generally split into three groups; (i) those that govern bowlers' conduct, (ii) those that govern batsmen's conduct, and (iii) those set for fielders. 

Each offence has a consequent penalty. We'll go through the common offences and their resulting penalties. 

Bowling

Front foot no ball

This is when a bowler lands his lead foot beyond the popping crease during a delivery.

Penalty - First and foremost, the delivery is deemed an illegal delivery. Meaning had a batsman been bowled, trapped LBW, or caught in the field from that delivery, the wicket would not stand.

However, if a batsman is dismissed via run out the wicket will stand (even though it was a no ball). 

In test match cricket the batting team is awarded a free run and the bowler has to bowl an additional delivery to make up for the no ball.

In white ball matches (T20 and ODI) the batting team is also awarded a free run and the bowler also has to bowl an additional delivery. 

However, unlike in test match cricket, the next delivery is deemed a free hit. This means the batsman can only be dismissed via run out. All other forms of dismissals are nullified for a free hit delivery.

Additionally, any runs scored off a no ball are considered valid and count towards a batsman's score.

Back foot no ball 

This is when a bowler's hind foot goes beyond the return crease during a delivery.

Penalty - The penalties for a front foot no ball apply.

Above waist-height no ball

This is a delivery that reaches a batsman above waist height.

Penalty - The penalties for a front foot no ball apply. 

Wide delivery

A delivery can be considered a wide ball if:

(i) It goes down a batsman's leg side without touching the body or bat of the batsman.

(ii) Its lateral movement takes it beyond a batsman's return crease.

(iii) It bounces over a batsman's head.

However, on occasion some wide calls are not given, especially lateral wides, if the batsman is moving around within the crease mid-delivery.

Penalty - An additional run is added to the batting team and the delivery has to be bowled again.   

Stepping on danger area 

The stumps line is deemed a 'protected area' and neither the batsmen or bowlers should tread on it. 

This is mainly implemented to slow down the rate of degradation of the playing area in order to maintain a degree of fairness for the team batting second.

Penalty - A bowler receives two verbal warnings from the umpire whenever he/she seems to be consistently treading on the danger area.

If the wrongdoing persists, an umpire has the right to banish the particular culprit from the bowling attack. 

This means the fielding captain will have to make up for the offender's remaining quota with a different bowler. 

Fielding

Obstruction

This is when an object belonging to the fielding team (usually equipment or fielding gear left lying on the ground) comes into contact with the ball during play.

Penalty - Five penalty runs are awarded to the batting team and the delivery is considered a no ball.

Deliberate boundary

This is when the fielding team deliberately let a ball run away into the boundary just so that they can get a certain batsman on strike.

This usually occurs when a top order batsman is at the crease along with a tail-ender (lower order batsman). The fielding team will be trying to get the lower order batsman on strike as he/she would be "easier" to dismiss.

Penalty - Five penalty runs are awarded to the batting team and the batsman who was being targeted to get off strike will keep the strike. 

Batting

Obstruction

This is when a batsman either uses his body or bat to shield the stumps during a genuine attempt for a run out by the fielding team.

Penalty - Wicket to the fielding team. 

If the umpire deems the incident to have been a genuine run out opportunity for the fielding team, the batsman will be dismissed for obstruction.