All the Ways a Batter Can Be Out in Cricket

A batter can be out in cricket in several ways, with the most common being bowled, caught, leg before wicket, run out and stumped. Rarer methods include hit wicket, obstructing the field, hitting the ball twice and timed out. Knowing every type of dismissal helps you follow any match and understand the umpire’s decisions.

The Most Common Ways to Be Out in Cricket

Most wickets in any format fall in one of five ways:

• Bowled: the ball from the bowler hits the stumps and removes at least one bail, whether it touches the bat or body first or not.
• Caught: a fielder, the wicketkeeper or the bowler catches the ball after it touches the bat or the glove holding the bat, before it hits the ground.
• Leg before wicket: the ball hits the batter’s body, usually the pad, when it would otherwise have gone on to hit the stumps, subject to rules about where it pitched and where it struck.
• Run out: while the batters are running, a fielder breaks the wicket with the ball before a batter has grounded the bat or body behind the crease.
• Stumped: the batter steps out of the crease to play a ball, misses, and the wicketkeeper breaks the wicket before the batter gets back.

Of these, caught is usually the most frequent, followed by bowled and leg before wicket, though the balance shifts with pitch conditions and format.

Less Common Dismissals

The Laws of Cricket, maintained by the Marylebone Cricket Club, also describe several dismissals that happen only occasionally:

1. Hit wicket: the batter breaks their own stumps with the bat or body while playing a shot or setting off for a run.
2. Obstructing the field: the batter deliberately blocks or distracts the fielding side with words or actions. Since a law change in two thousand seventeen, this also covers handling the ball without permission, which used to be a separate dismissal.
3. Hit the ball twice: the batter deliberately strikes the ball a second time, other than to protect the stumps.
4. Timed out: an incoming batter fails to be ready to face a ball within the set time after the previous wicket falls.

There is also retired out, where a batter leaves the field without the umpire’s consent and without a valid reason such as injury. This is recorded as a dismissal on the scorecard.

Who Gets Credit for the Wicket

Not every dismissal counts toward the bowler’s wicket tally. Bowled, caught, leg before wicket, stumped and hit wicket are all credited to the bowler. Run outs, obstructing the field, hitting the ball twice and timed out are not, because the bowler did not directly cause them.

This is why a bowler’s figures and the team’s total number of wickets can differ. A side might lose ten wickets while its bowler takes only eight of the credited ones. For a wider look at how the sport is structured, read this complete guide to cricket.

How Umpires Decide

For most dismissals, the fielding side must appeal by asking the umpire, usually with the call “How’s that?”. Without an appeal, the umpire normally will not give the batter out, even if the dismissal is clear. The exception is when a batter walks off voluntarily, accepting that they are out.

In international cricket, close decisions such as run outs and stumpings are often sent to the third umpire, who uses television replays. Players can also ask for a review of some on-field decisions under the review system. You can explore more explainers on cricket laws on our cricket rules homepage.

A simple way to learn the dismissals is to watch highlights and name each wicket as it falls. Notice whether the fielding side appealed, whether the umpire raised a finger, and how the scorecard records it. Within a few matches, the rarer dismissals will also start to feel familiar.

Wrap-Up

Learning the ways a batter can be out is one of the quickest routes to understanding cricket. Start with the main five, bowled, caught, leg before wicket, run out and stumped, then add the rarer ones as you meet them. Before long, every umpire signal and scorecard entry will make sense.