Site news

Cricket is an incredibly intricate and complex game where almost anything can happen, and at more than 400 years old, nearly everything has happened.

Here is a list of some of the most quirky cricket rules and how they led to unusual dismissals and controversy.

1. Hide Your Gear

Sometimes if a fielding team is switching between fast and slower bowlers, the wicketkeeper will keep his helmet directly behind him. If the ball hits the helmet accidently, the batting team is given 5 runs.

2. Always Appeal  

A batsman can’t be given out if the fielding team doesn’t appeal. It doesn’t matter how blatant the wicket, without an appeal, it’s no deal. Another interesting rule about appealing is that an appeal applies to all forms of dismissal. If a fielding team appeals for a catch, but it was actually LBW, the appeal stands.

3. Twice and Out

If you hit the ball twice with your bat– you’re out. This law has a lot of leeway, though. For instance, if you inadvertently hit the ball twice, you’re not out. You can also hit the ball twice if it is in defence of your wicket, but not if it would prevent a catch.

4. Is it LBW or BBW?      

A Leg Before Wicket (LBW) decision can be given even if the ball doesn’t hit the leg pads. If the ball is going to go on and hit the wicket and it is obstructed by any part of the body, it is out LBW. This is a fine reason to stock up on body pads.You wouldn’t want to add insult to injury or injury to dismissal

Famously, Sachin Tendulkar was not happy when he was given out LBW after a Glenn McGrath delivery caught him just under the shoulder. Sachin had to admit though, it was plum.

5. Bodyline

You can’t have more than 2 fielders behind square on the leg-side. This is so that a bowler can’t just send bouncers down all day. How gentlemanly!

6. Stay Alert

In a series against Australia in 1947/48, Vinoo Mankad started exploiting a quirky rule that stated a batsman at the non-striker's end could be run out.

The technique is now known as mankading and every bowler considers this as an option if the non-striker is trying to get too much of a head start from his crease. It is customary for a bowler to warn the non-striker if he is considering the technique.

Sachithra Senanayake once sent England’s Jos Buttler back to the pavilion in this way – to be fair though, he did warn him.

7. Duckworth Lewis     

Not even Professor Stephen Hawking can work this one out. The Duckworth Lewis method is an algorithm that was designed to calculate a target score for the team batting second in a limited overs match on chance of interruption by weather or other such circumstances. Many criticise the D/L system for being awkwardly complicated, but it is the best system we have to date.

8. No 6 and Out?

Modern technology like spider cams and present an interesting obstacle for the game of cricket. This is because an aerial stoppage (like hitting the spider cam or a roof) is a dead ball.

If a ball is hit into the roof, even though it would be a certain 6, it is still considered to be dead. This was seen when Michael Hussey hit the roof at The Docklands in Melbourne against the World XI. It’s fair to say that Mr Cricket was not too happy about it, either

Those are some of the quirkier rules from the complex game of cricket. Do you know some of your own? Maybe you have some interesting backyard rules. Feel free to share those and more in the comments below.