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The
Rules
RULE
9. FIELD PLACEMENT
-
Fielders
Per Half Court A
court is divided into halves, the dividing line being the non-striker's
running crease. No more than 4 fielders may be in either half of
the court from the moment the bowler commences their run up until
the ball leaves the bowler's hand. A player standing with a foot,
or part thereof, on the line is considered to be in both halves,
and would therefore contravene this rule. If this contravention
occurs, the umpire will call "No Ball" as soon as the
bowler releases the ball (even if by then the fielder has moved
back into the 'correct' half). Further discussion on this rule in
the Umpiring
section.
-
Fielders
on Pitch With
the exception of the bowler, no fielder (including the wicket keeper),
can move onto or extend any part of the body over the pitch from
the commencement of the bowler's run up until the ball is played
(hit) by the batsman, hits the batsman, or passes the batsman's
wicket. If this rule is contravened, the umpire will call "No
Ball".
- Exclusion
Zone The
Exclusion Zone is an arc extending to a radius of 3 metres from the
exact centre of the batting crease. No fielder can move into or extend
over the Exclusion Zone from the commencement of the bowler's run
up until the ball is played at by the batsman, hit by the batsman,
hits the batsman, or passes the batsman's wicket. The AICF then go
on to tell us that the "wicket keeper may move into the Exclusion
Zone after the ball has been bowled" - which is very charitable,
seeing as it's almost impossible for a 'keeper to not be in
the Exclusion Zone as they wait for the ball to be bowled. As long
as the 'keeper is in position to field the ball, and doesn't pass
forward of the line of the stumps until the ball has been hit, has
hit, or has passed behind the stumps, the rule has not been contravened.
If however this rule is somehow contravened, the umpire will call
"No Ball".
BACK
TO TOP
-
Wicket
Keeper
-
The
AICF considers a fielder is to be classified as the wicket keeper
if they take up position behind the stumps at the striker's
end in the area designated for the wicket keeper. I make the
subtle qualification that they have to be in that position at
the commencement of a delivery ... they are then the 'keeper
for the remainder of that delivery. And so on ....
-
The
area designated for the wicket keeper is between the lines extending
along the extremities of the pitch to the net immediately behind
the wicket, the actual net immediately behind the wicket, and
the line running at right angles through the stumps at the striker's
end. In other words - on the pitch, from the stumps to the net
immediately behind the wicket. When describing this rule, the
AICF rulebook confusingly calls this net the "back net".
This is demonstrably wrong ... the "back net" is the
net which scores 4, 5 or 6 (see Rule 11 Scoring). The net refered
to in this rule is the "front" net, or scoring zone
A.
-
The
wicket keeper must take up a position with both feet wholly
inside the designated area (above) and cannot move out of that
area until the ball leaves the bowler's hand. If this rule is
contravened, the umpire will call "No Ball". The spirit
of this particular rule is that once the ball leaves the bowler's
hand, the 'keeper may move out of the designated area to field
a delivery which he couldn't reach otherwise. Although the AICF
rules don't actually state it, the 'keeper cannot move out of
the designated area once the ball has been delivered to take
up a position where he thinks the batsman will hit the ball,
in an attempt to field the ball. The rule should more accurately
state that any movement outside the area, before the ball
has reached the batsman, can only be to attempt to field
the delivery as bowled.
-
As
stated above, the wicket keeper may move into the Exclusion
Zone, or more accurately may stay in it, after the ball has
been bowled provided they are legitimately getting into position
to field the ball - my qualification would be "provided
they are getting into position to field the delivery" -
and they do not pass forward of the line through the stumps.
If this rule is contravened, the umpire will call "No Ball".
-
The
wicket keeper cannot take the ball either in front of or from
the side of the wickets (this means "in a line directly
to the side of"), with the exception of when the ball strikes
the batter's person or equipment. If this rule is contravened,
the umpire will call "No Ball".
-
The
wearing of gloves by the wicket keeper is optional. [See Rule
5C - Playing Equipment].
- A
wicket keeper is optional. There can only be one wicketkeeper
each time a ball is bowled.
BACK
TO TOP
RULE
10. PLAY BALL / LIVE BALL / DEAD BALL
PLAY
BALL / LIVE BALL
-
The
game commences once the players take up their positions and the
umpire calls "Play". I prefer "Play ball",
but ......
-
The
ball remains "live" throughout the over, right up until
the umpire calls "Over", unless the umpire calls "Dead
Ball" or a wicket falls.
-
Play
cannot recommence after the fall of a wicket or a call of "Dead
Ball" or before the start of a new over, until the umpire
calls "Play". ... or "Play Ball".
-
It
is the batsman's responsibility to have taken strike when the
bowler is ready to bowl, provided the batsman has been given reasonable
time to do so. The umpire will be the sole judge of what is "reasonable
time". However, most of the time a bowler bowls when the
batsman is not looking or has not properly "taken guard",
I would call "Dead Ball". Only if a batsman was being
cute and deliberately wasting time would I call them to face-up
and then call Play Ball.
DEAD
BALL There
are several situations where a call of Dead Ball is called for.
-
"Automatic" Dead Balls. No runs can be scored
or wickets lost, and the ball must be rebowled. There are other
situations which gain an automatic Dead Ball call, but with different
consequences and conditions - they are covered further down the
page -
-
The
bails are not properly placed on either set of stumps when
the bowler commences their run up.
-
A
ball leaves the court, other than as a result of an attempted
run out by a fielder.
-
A
ball, after being struck by the batsman, lodges in the net
or any part of the net's framework. The original batsman must
face the rebowled delivery.
-
The
bowler attempts an illegal mankad. [See Rule 17F(iii) and
(iv) - Dismissals]. This is a "No Ball / Dead Ball"
call, and the batting side receives 2 runs for the "No
Ball" component.
-
"Discretionary" Dead Balls. In these particular
situations, the decision to have the ball rebowled or to allow
runs scored or to apply penalties for wickets taken will be at
the discretion of the umpire.
-
An
injury to a player. If a player is hurt and it looks serious
(dropping to the ground and not moving is a good indicator it's
serious), the umpire should immediately call Dead Ball. No runs
would be counted, and the ball would rightly be rebowled in
that case. However, if a batsman is hurt but not incapacitated,
the judgement can be to let the play reach a conclusion before
calling Dead Ball. Runs would count (including wickets) and
the ball wouldn't have to be be rebowled. As the rule says,
these situations are discretionary, and it can be a difficult
decision to make. If in doubt, call Dead Ball immediately, but
be aware of batsmen suddenly limping when it looks like they're
going to be run out by ten feet. Let them play on .....
-
The
batsman hadn't properly taken strike before the bowler delivered
the ball (discussed above).
-
The
bat accidentally left the batter's hands (aka throwing the bat)
as a result of playing a shot at the ball. Highly amusing in
hindsight, but particularly dangerous at the time. Good gloves
should prevent this happening, but happen it does.
-
"Special Case" Dead Balls. The ball is not
rebowled.
-
The
ball after being bowled, but before reaching the batsman,
hits a fielder. A bowler would have to be rather wayward to
have this happen, but again, it does happen. The call of "DUCK!!!"
is to be avoided. Instead, call "No Ball, Dead Ball"
and give the batsman 2 runs.
-
A
fielder throws the ball to run a batsman out, and the ball
finds a hole somewhere and leaves the court (or becomes lodged
in the netting or netting fixtures). The score (net zone and
physical runs) made up until when the ball leaves the court
will count (although the AICF rules are contradictory, as
described under Rule 15). In general practise in games at
your local centre, the run in which the fielder made the runout
attempt would probably be counted by the umpire, if the batsmen
were very close to completing it when the ball disappeared....
technically though, only runs FULLY COMPLETED before the ball
left the court should count. To avoid argument and to be consistent,
umpires should stick steadfastly to the technical definition.
Most of the time, by the time a throw has missed the stumps
and then found a way out of the court, the batsmen would have
completed the run initially under threat. If alert and paying
attention, they might be just beginning an extra run, and
the commonsense and fairness of a "Dead Ball" call
at that point would not draw any argument..
-
A
ball, when bowled, hits the top or side net before reaching
the batsman. The umpire will not laugh, but will call "No
Ball, Dead Ball" and the batsman will receive 2 runs.
-
A
wicket falls, excluding a mankad.
-
The
umpire calls "Over".
-
The
captain of the fielding team or the batmen are permitted to
request a "Dead Ball" under the following conditions:
Player injury (where you were too insensitive to call it prior
to the request); ruling or score clarification; clothing adjustment
(their own preferably). Until the umpire acknowledges the
request and calls Dead Ball, the ball is live.
Note:
If the umpire is required to intervene (verbally only, please) during
an argument or dispute ... or fight ... between players, the ball
is automatically dead from the time of the umpire's intervention until
"Play" is called. The ball is dead whether the umpire calls
"Dead Ball" or not ... in the heat of such events it is
easy for an umpire to forget. No runs can be scored or wickets taken
during the intervention. However, any score completed up until the
intervention must stand.
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