Cricket is one of the most famous sports in the world, and it has been played since the 18th century. The charm and value of the sport have only gotten higher. Even though you have been watching and following the game for a long time, there are occasions when you get confused about the rules.
Rules that will hardly match your expectations and can get a massive spin. To surprise the readers, we will unravel some of the cricket rules you didn’t know about and surprise you with them. So why wait?
9 Cricket Rules You Didn’t Know About
Cricket is full of surprising rules that even long-time fans often miss! From quirky appeals to unusual ways a batter can be out, here are 8 cricket rules that might just surprise you. Whether you’re new to the game or a die-hard fan, get ready to discover the hidden side of cricket!
Always Appeal
This could be one of the funny instances, but you will need to appeal if you want the decision to be in your favor.
In cricket, the umpire can’t say a batter is out unless the fielding team asks for it. They usually do this by shouting “How’s that?” or “Howzat?”
In the case of cricket rules you didn’t know, you need to appeal to the umpire about the wicket, even though you have got the batter out. It doesn’t matter whether the batter is plumb LBW; you don’t get the decision in your favor until you appeal to the umpire.
The captain of the fielding team can cancel the appeal if the batter hasn’t left the field yet, but only if the umpire agrees. If the umpire allows it, the batter can come back and play.
Appeals are an important part of cricket; they add excitement and show fair play.
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No Gear Shown
If you didn’t know, in cricket rules, if the ball hits the helmet of the wicketkeeper lying on the ground, the batting team will be awarded 5 penalty runs. There is no substitute for this, so try and hide your helmet as much as possible.
This rule is in place to prevent the helmet from blocking the ball and giving the batting team an unfair advantage. Fielding teams need to be careful to keep their helmets and other protective gear away from the ball’s path, often placing them behind the wicket keeper or far from the pitch.
If a helmet is left on the ground, it could accidentally be hit by the ball, resulting in penalty runs for the batting team. Many people don’t know about this rule, but it can make a difference in close matches, showing how cricket’s rules cover even small details to keep the game fair.
Bodyline Rule
The Bodyline Rule was created after the 1932-1933 Ashes series, when England used a controversial tactic of bowling bodyline deliveries at Australian batsmen. This method, which targeted the batsman’s body with fast, short-pitched balls, was seen as unfair and unsportsmanlike.
This tactic, known as Bodyline, was considered dangerous and intimidating, leading to injuries and tensions between England and Australia.
To stop this, a new rule was introduced: no more than two fielders could be placed behind square on the leg side, and bowlers were limited in how many bouncers they could bowl at the batsman’s body. This rule was meant to protect players and ensure the game stayed fair.
The Interesting Case of LBW
Readers and fans of cricket might be well aware of LBW, which occurs when a batter gets hit in the pads right in front of the stumps. If the ball and the batter are right in front of the stumps, the batter will be adjudged out.
In the 1999 Adelaide Test, Sachin Tendulkar was famously given out LBW in a very unusual way. While facing Glenn McGrath, he ducked a short ball that didn’t bounce as expected and was hit on the shoulder, right in front of the stumps.
Although the ball didn’t touch his bat or pads, umpire Daryl Harper gave him out. This rare decision caused a lot of debate because LBW decisions typically involve the ball hitting the pads. Even McGrath later joked that it should have been called “shoulder before wicket.” Despite the controversy, Tendulkar accepted the call, and the moment remains one of the most talked-about and unique LBW decisions in cricket history.
Non-Striker Run Out
Cricket fans might not be too happy when we use the word “Mankading,” but it refers to being run out at the bowler’s end during the delivery. This happens when the non-striker (the batter who is not facing the ball) leaves the crease too early, before the bowler has delivered the ball.
In this case, the bowler is allowed to stop during the run-up and break the stumps to get the non-striker out. This type of dismissal is 100% legal under cricket rules, specifically Law 41.16. However, it’s often debated as being against the “spirit of the game.”
Some bowlers give a warning first, while others don’t. A famous case was when Ravichandran Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler in the IPL 2019 without any warning. Even though it caused controversy, it was completely within the rules.
Don’t Hit The Ball Twice
A batter can be given out if they intentionally hit the ball twice before it touches a fielder. This is covered under Law 34. The only exception is if the batter is trying to protect their stumps from being hit (like blocking the ball from rolling onto the stumps after the first hit).
If they hit the ball again just to stop a catch or to try and score more runs, they will be out. If the second hit happens accidentally—say the ball bounces off the bat twice—it doesn’t count. This is one of the rarest ways to get out in cricket.
Be on Time
In cricket, a batter can actually be given out without even facing a single ball if they take too long to come out and get ready. When a batter gets out, the next batter must reach the crease and be prepared to face the next ball within 2 minutes. It doesn’t matter if they’re still fixing their gear or helmet—if they’re not ready in time, the umpire can declare them “timed out.”
A well-known example of this happened during the 2023 ODI World Cup when Angelo Mathews from Sri Lanka was given out against Bangladesh because he was late coming in to bat. This rare rule reminds players to always be alert and ready on time.
Spidercam Interference
Cricket has grown a long way when we talk about technology. Modern equipment like Spidercam, the technological dog, has come into existence. But there are issues with it, too. In the case of cricket rules you didn’t know, spidercam interference is also an important part.
When a batter hits the ball high into the air, if the ball touches the spider cam, the wire attached to it, or anything else of the spider cam, the ball is immediately declared dead. It doesn’t matter whether you are caught out or the ball went for six; it is a dead ball. This is an interesting rule, to say the least.
Intentional Short Run Penalty
In cricket, when a batter runs between the wickets, they must touch the ground behind the crease with their bat or foot. If they don’t, that run is not counted, and it’s called a “short run.” If this happens by mistake, the run is just cancelled.
But if the umpire thinks the batter did it on purpose to cheat or change the strike, then the fielding team can be given 5 penalty runs. This doesn’t happen often, but if it does, it’s treated as unfair play under cricket laws. So, while regular short runs are just disallowed, doing it on purpose can actually hurt the batting side by giving runs to the other team.
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