15 Laws of Cricket You Must Know in Order to Play Cricket

If you love cricket, how can you miss on the little detailing of the game? You can definitely be a game changer if you have the utmost fully capable knowledge of the game! Yes, we are talking it right. Get your details right and play your favourite game to enjoy, and also win some good cash rewards with fantasy cricket!

From the role of the umpires to the intricacies of scoring runs and the significance of the pitch, these laws not only preserve the spirit of the game but also enrich its rich tapestry, making cricket a sport beloved by millions worldwide. Join us as we explore these essential laws and unravel the complexities that make cricket a truly captivating and timeless sport.

These certain laws rule the game of cricket and are not even complicated to understand. Also, The Law Book has 42 different laws which gets into different categories with players, umpires and other officials. So, don’t miss out on these basic rules and know everything about the same.

Laws of Cricket

1- Leg Before Wicket (LBW):

This particular rule states that the batsman may be declared out LBW, only under these circumstances!

This rule or law basically tells us how any batsman is declared out LBW if he has attempted to play a short and the ball touches him anywhere, but below his hips even before he has touched the ball with his bat. Also, the ball should come in a legal way and should be on the off side between wicket to wicket, but below the level of bails.

Now, when we see this rule in modern cricket, it is more popular among the spinners as they twist and turn the ball to have a hit on the pads of the batsman.

2- No Ball

This law would talk about the delivery bowled by the bowler and the came out to be as “no ball” by the umpire. So, in these mentioned circumstances, you would see a no ball!

This is how a no-ball law has been explained in the world of cricket. Also, now, if we see the game, no ball is like a gift to the batting team as they obtain an extra run and a free hit in a limited amount of matches. This is how it can be beneficial for the batting team in the cricket game.

3- Wide Ball

The 25th law of the rule book states, when a wide ball can be seen in the match. These are the circumstances which you need to know about to state a ball as a “wide ball”.

This law tells you about the delivery of a wide ball in the cricket match. Then, there are penalty runs given to the batting side, that is 1 run. Also, apart from that, if the wicketkeeper misses the ball the batsman is allowed to run between the wickets resulting in more and more runs for the batting side. So, this is how they can take advantage of the same.

4- Running out the non-striker

The bowler may try to run out the non-striker before taking his delivery stride, according to rule 42.15 of the rule book. The ball will not count as one of the overs, regardless of the outcome of the effort. The umpire must promptly declare the delivery to be dead ball if the bowler is unable to run out the non-striker.

Among the more peculiar ways to get dismissed is this one. Mankading is another term for this type of dismissal. The reason this dismissal has such an odd name is that it was originally used by Indian cricket player Vinoo Mankad during a bowling match. In 1947, he ran out Bill Brown, the batting.

5- Fair Catching

So, here is one more law known as the “fair catching”, where you would see such type of circumstances in the match.

Throughout the act of making a catch, any fielder in contact with the ball is within the field of ay.
The ball has to be hugged to the body of the catcher of accidently lodges in his clothing, then it would not be considered as a fair catch if the ball lodges in a protective helmet worn by a fielder.
Also, if the ball does not touch the ground, even though the hand holding it does so in effecting the catch.

Also, if the fielder catches the ball after touching an umpire, than another fielder or batsman.
If the fielder has caught the ball in the air after it has crossed the boundary provided that, he has no part of his person touching or grounded beyond the boundary at any time while he is in contact with the ball.

So, you can definitely look for this “fair-catch” rule whenever seeing a cricket match.

6- Runner

The player serving as a batsman’s runner must be a member of the batting side and, if feasible, have batted during the innings, according to law 2.7 of the law book. The runner must carry a bat and wear external protective gear matching that of the batsman he is running for.

The way a member of a batting team can enter the field as a runner is explained in detail under this law. The principal purpose of this law is to enable a batsman who is wounded and unable to run between the wickets to request that a member of the batting team run between the wickets on his behalf. The runner must meet the following requirements in order to enter the field.

7- Dead Ball

According to the law 23 of the rule book, you would know a ball as a “dead ball” according to these things.

• The ball should be finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper or the bowler.
• The boundary should be scored.
• When the batsman is seen to be dismissed, the ball will be dead soon after the dismissal has been caused.
• The ball lodges into the batsman or umpire’s clothing or any kind of equipment.
• Also, if the ball lodges in a helmet worn by the fielder.
• Or even if the lost ball is called.

So, this is how you would explain the scenario of a “Dead ball” in cricket. Also, there are some more scenarios where you would call it a dead ball like. The umpire interrupts in case of unfair play, or if a serious injury has been caused to the player or umpire occurs, the umpire leaves his normal position for consultation.

8- Bye and Leg Bye

In cricket, the “leg” and “leg bye” rules add an interesting twist to the game. When the ball hits the batsman’s leg or body (not the bat or hand holding the bat) and they score runs by running between the wickets, these runs are called “leg byes.” For leg byes to be awarded, the batsman must have attempted to play a shot or tried to avoid being hit by the ball. If the batsman just stands still and lets the ball hit them without attempting a shot or evasion, no leg byes can be scored. This rule keeps the game fair and exciting, ensuring that batsmen can’t just stand in the way of the ball to gain runs.

9- Stumped

In this law of cricket, the batsman is said to be out stumped when the bowler comes with a legitimate delivery, (not in the case of just no ball), however if the ball has been declared as wide, then the keeper is allowed to stump the striker.

For example, if the striker has moved out his crease to play the ball but has missed and has not attempted to run and his wicket is fairly put down by the wicket-keeper without the intervention of other fielders. So, when all of these conditions have been met, then you can say that the batsman is stumped.

10- Damaging the Pitch

According to the 42 law of the rule book, it is incumbent on all players to avoid the damage to the pitch. A player would deemed to be causing unnecessary damage to the pitch, if other umpire considers that his presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause. It is not right and also considered to be unfair to cause deliberate damage to the pitch. There is a small area known as the “protected area” where no player is allowed to enter without any reason. So, that area has been undisturbed within a rectangle pounded at each end by an imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps.

11- Hit the ball twice

In cricket, the “hit the ball twice” rule is a quirky but important rule designed to keep the game fair. This rule states that a batsman is out if they intentionally hit the ball twice with their bat or body, except to protect their stumps. Imagine you hit the ball, and it’s rolling towards the stumps, so you give it another tap to save yourself from being bowled out—that’s allowed. However, if you hit it a second time just to prevent a fielder from catching it or to score extra runs, you’re out! This rule ensures that batsmen don’t get an unfair advantage and keeps the game exciting and challenging for everyone.

12- Obstructing the Field

According to rule 37 of the rule book, if a batter intentionally distracts or obstructs the fielding side by words or actions, he is considered to be out of obstructing the field.

13- The batsman out of his ground

This rule of the book states that the batsman should be considered of his ground unless his bat or some part of body is grounded behind the popping crease. So, this rule would be applied only if,

14- The wicket is down

It is the 28th rule of the book, which is known as the wicket is down if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps. Or even if the stump is struck out of the ground,

If one bail is off, it shall be sufficient for the purpose of putting the wicket down to remove the remaining bail or to striker or pull any of the three stumps out of the ground.

15- Boundary Catching

The ball may be fielded after it has passed the boundary or caught pursuant to the restrictions of Law 32 (Boundaries), according to Rule 32.4 of the rule book, provided that,

A fielder makes the initial contact with the ball when they either have a portion of their body grounded inside the boundary or make their last ground contact inside the boundary prior to touching the ball.
During the act of making the catch or fielding the ball, neither the ball nor any fielder in contact with it touches or is grounded beyond the boundary.