cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, a leg bye is a type of

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

. It is a run scored by the batting team if the batter has not hit the ball with their

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

, but the ball has hit the batter's body or protective gear. It is covered by Law 23 of the

Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...

Scoring leg byes

If the ball deflects off the batter's body they can attempt to score runs in a similar manner as if they had hit the ball. The number of runs scored are scored as leg byes – they are added to the team's total, but not to the number of runs scored by the batter nor to the runs conceded by the bowler. If the ball deflects off the batter's body and travels all the way to the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment *Boundaries (2016 film), ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film *Boundaries (2018 film), ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip ...

, the batting team immediately scores four leg byes, similar to if the ball had been hit to the boundary for a

four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. The only part of the batter's body to which the rule does not apply is the hand or hands (that is, the batter's gloves) holding the bat, which are deemed for the sake of the rules to be a part of the bat. If the ball strikes a hand which for whatever reason is not holding the bat, then leg byes may be scored. However, if the batter deliberately allows the ball to hit a hand which is not holding the bat no leg byes can be scored, and they may on appeal be given out

obstructing the field Obstructing the field is one of the ten methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is Law 37 of the Laws of cr ...

. Leg byes may only be scored if the ball hits the batter while the batter was either: *attempting to hit the ball with their bat, or *attempting to evade being hit by the ball. If the batter was attempting neither of these, and the ball hits their body, it is a

dead ball Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it or the players from their respective positions of significance. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite rou ...

and runs may not be scored. If the batter attempt to score runs in this instance, the fielding team may attempt to run either of them out. If the batting pair complete such a "run" when the ball is dead, the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

signals dead ball, the run is not scored, and the batters must return to their

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

s as before the run attempt. If it appears that the ball would have hit the stumps were it not for the batter's legs, the batter may be dismissed

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

. Leg byes are the most common form of extras scored in Test cricket. The average number of leg byes scored in a Test match is about 20; in a 50 over game it is about 10. The most leg byes in a single test innings is 35, conceded by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the Proteas' tour of England, on 1 August 2008.

Scoring notation

The conventional notation for a single leg bye is a triangle with a point at the base and horizontal edge at the top (an inverted bye symbol). If more than one leg bye is taken the number scored is written within the triangle - in practice it is easier to write the number down and then draw the triangle around it.

Validity

Prior to his retirement from Test cricket Australian captain

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australi ...

called for leg byes to be removed from the sport, commenting: "I don't think you should get runs when you miss the ball."

Umpire's signal

Umpires signal a leg bye with a hand touching their raised knee.Umpire's signal
BBC Sport, Retrieved on 5 August 2009

References

{{Cricket statistics Cricket terminology Scoring (cricket) Cricket laws and regulations