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Glossary

No-ball

01

An illegal delivery. It is an extra and not a legal ball of the over. What happens next depends on the playing conditions, including free hits.

Run-Up study of Mitchell Johnson 100311 1
Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗

A no-ball is called when the bowler oversteps the popping crease, lands the front foot outside the return crease, or bowls an illegal action. It adds one run to the batting side as an extra, plus any runs off the bat.

A batter cannot be out bowled, LBW or stumped off a no-ball. In formats that use it, the next delivery is a free hit. The scorer records the no-ball first, then the free hit.

Questions scorers actually ask

01 Is a no-ball a legal ball?
No. The bowler bowls again, so it does not count toward the six balls.
02 How many runs does a no-ball hit for six give?
Six to the batter and one for the no-ball, seven in all.

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