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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 st ...
, a wide is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a
no-ball In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...
) that is judged by 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' ...
to be too wide or (in international cricket) too high to be hit by the batsman by means of a normal cricket shot. It is also a type of extra, being the
run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
awarded to the batting team as a consequence of such an illegal delivery.


Definition

Wide balls are covered by Law 22 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 ...
. A delivery is a wide if it is not sufficiently within reach for the batter to be able to hit it with the bat by means of a normal cricket stroke from where the batter is standing, and also would not have been sufficiently within reach for the batter to be able to hit it with the bat by means of a normal cricket stroke if the batter were standing in a normal guard position. Therefore a delivery is not a wide if the ball hits the bat or batsman, or if the batsman, by moving, causes the ball to be out of reach. Also, if a ball qualifies as a
no-ball In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...
as well as a wide, the umpire will call it a no-ball, and not a wide. This is because the no-ball is the more serious offence by the bowling team.


Effects


Dismissal

A batsman cannot, by definition, be given out
bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
,
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 ...
,
caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...
, or
hit the ball twice Hit the ball twice, or ''"double-hit"'', is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. Its occurrence in modern cricket is exceptionally rare. Definition Law 34.1 of the Laws of Cricket states: 34.1 Out Hit the ball twice 34.1.1 The strike ...
off a wide, as a ball cannot be ruled as a wide if the ball strikes the batter's bat or person or hits the wicket. They may however be out hit wicket, obstructing the field, run out, or stumped.


Runs

When a wide is bowled, one extra run is added to the team's total, but not added to a batter's total. If the wicket-keeper fumbles or misses the ball, the batters may attempt additional runs. Any runs scored thus are recorded as wides, not byes. If the wicket-keeper misses the ball and it travels all the way to the boundary, the batting team is awarded five wides, just as 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 ...
off a no-ball. If a wide ball crosses the boundary without touching the ground, only five wides (not seven) are scored - according to Law 19.7, a boundary six can only be scored if the ball has touched the bat.


Additional delivery

A wide does not count as one of the six deliveries in an
over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England * Over, Cheshire, England * Over, South Gloucestershire, England *Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England **Over Bridge * Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by P ...
, nor as a ball faced by the batters, and so an additional delivery must be bowled.


Bowlers' statistics

Wide balls are considered to be the fault of the bowler, and all wide runs conceded are recorded against the bowler in the bowler's
bowling analysis In cricket, a bowling analysis (sometimes shortened to just analysis, especially in the phrase innings analysis, and also referred to as bowling figures) usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, h ...
. However, this has only been the case since the early 1980s - the first
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
to record wides (and no-balls) against the bowler's analyses was
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
vs
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in September 1983.


Frequency

Wide balls used to be relatively rare, but regulations have been added in many competitions to enforce a much stricter interpretation in order to deter defensive bowling, and the number of wide balls has increased sharply. In one-day cricket, most deliveries that pass the batter on the leg side without hitting the stumps are now called as wides. In the semi-finals and final of the first World Cup in 1975, there were 79 extras, of which 9 were wides (11.4%); in the semi-finals and final of the World Cup in 2011, there were 77 extras, of which 46 were wides (59.7%). In the six Tests of the 1970-71 Ashes series there were 9 wides; in the five Tests of the Ashes series of 2010-11 there were 52 wides.


Umpire signal

An umpire straightens both arms to form a horizontal straight line to signal a wide.


Scoring notation

The conventional scoring notation for a wide is an equal cross (likened to the umpire standing with arms outstretched signalling a wide). If the batters run byes on a wide ball or the ball runs to the boundary for 4, a dot is added in each corner for each bye that is run, typically top left, then top right, then bottom left and finally all 4 corners. If the batter hits the stumps with the bat, or the wicket-keeper stumps the batter, the batter would be out and a ‘W’ is added to the WIDE ‘cross’ symbol. If a batter is run out while taking byes on a wide delivery then the number of completed runs are shown as dots and an 'R' is added in the corner for the incomplete run.


Interpretation with batter switching sides

If the batsman does a switch hit, then the ball may be bowled to either side of them within the standard distance without being called a wide.


See also

* No ball *
Free hit In cricket, a free hit is a delivery to a batter in which the batter cannot be dismissed by any methods other than those applicable for a no-ball, namely run out, hit the ball twice and obstructing the field. It is relevant in One Day Internat ...
* Overthrow


References

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