Wide ball
The delivery ruled too far from the batter to be hit — the exact test the umpire applies, the two situations that cancel a wide, and why a wide costs a run and must be bowled again.
Overview
A Wide is a delivery the striker could not reasonably be expected to reach. Like a no-ball it carries an instant one-run penalty, does not count as one of the over's six deliveries, and must be bowled again.
Law 22 gives the umpire a two-part test. The delivery is a wide if it passes wide of where the striker is standing, or has stood at any point after the ball came into play, and would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position — unless it was close enough for the striker to hit it with the bat by means of a normal cricket stroke.
A batter can cancel their own wide
The umpire shall not call Wide if the striker's own movement caused the ball to pass wide of them, or brought a ball that would have been wide within reach of a normal stroke. A batter who backs away to the leg side and then watches the ball go past off stump has not been bowled a wide.
That clause is the reason the rule refers to where the striker "is standing or has stood at any point after the ball came into play". The umpire is judging the delivery against the whole of the striker's movement, not against where they happened to be at the moment of release.
When a wide is revoked
Two things cancel a call already made. If the ball touches the striker's bat or person before any fielder touches it, the wide is revoked. And if the delivery is also a No ball, the No ball takes precedence and the wide is revoked.
The umpire calls and signals Wide once the ball has passed the striker's wicket, but the delivery is treated as wide from the moment the bowler entered the delivery stride — which is what allows runs taken before the signal to be recorded correctly.
The ball stays alive
A wide does not stop play. The ball remains in play after the call, the batters may run, and any runs they take are added to the penalty and recorded as wides.
A batter cannot be bowled or caught off a wide, but can still be stumped, run out, or out for obstructing the field or hitting the wicket. Chasing a wide down the leg side is one of the commonest ways to be stumped.
Key points
- A wide is a delivery out of reach of a normal cricket stroke from where the striker has stood.
- A batter who moves and causes the ball to pass wide of them is not awarded a wide.
- Contact with bat or person before any fielder touches the ball revokes the call.
- A No ball takes precedence and revokes a wide.
- The ball stays in play; a batter can still be stumped or run out off a wide.
Where it’s used
Sports that use wide ball:
Related rules
Cricket creases
The white lines marked at each end of a cricket pitch — bowling, popping and return creases — what each one is for, and the exact measurements that decide no-balls, run-outs and stumpings.
Innings and overs
How a cricket match is structured — what an innings is, why an over is six balls, how the bowling end alternates, and which parts of the structure the Laws fix and which a competition sets.
No-ball
The illegal delivery in cricket — where the bowler's feet must land, what the Laws say about straightening the arm, and why a no-ball costs a run and has to be bowled again.
Sources
The rules, dimensions and specifications on this page were read from these documents.
- The Laws of Cricket — Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), 2017 Code, Law 22 — Wide ball (read 2026-09-12)
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Wide ball in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Commonly confused with
Close enough to be mixed up — the distinction is worth knowing.
Explains
Covers the underlying "why" for these.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- Cricket creasesBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Innings and oversBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- No-ballBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Leg before wicket (LBW)Both are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- How a batter is out in cricketBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
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Learning paths
Equipment
- Wickets, stumps and bailsThe three stumps and two bails a bowler aims at and a batter defends — their exact height, width and shape, and what the Laws say about when bails may be dispensed with.
- The table tennis ballThe 40 mm plastic ball the modern game is played with — its exact diameter, weight and colour, and the two separate rule changes that people routinely merge into one.
- The goal and the creaseThe net a hockey team defends and the protected area in front of it — the exact goal dimensions, what the crease area includes, and why goaltender contact so often disallows a goal.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket, with a curved back that concentrates weight behind the hitting area.
Techniques
- Forward and back defenceThe two strokes a batter survives with — the forward defensive and the back defensive — when each is the right choice, and why a defensive stroke is a decision about length rather than intent.
- Pace bowlingWhat fast bowling is actually for — how speed reduces a batter's reaction time, what the short ball and the yorker each achieve, and how a pace attack uses length as its main variable.
- Cricket batting grip and stanceThe starting position every cricket stroke is built from — how the hands sit on the handle, how the feet and head are set, and what the setup decides before the ball is even bowled.
- Table tennis serve techniqueHow to serve legally and still create an advantage — generating spin within the rules, keeping the ball short, and why disguise must come from contact rather than concealment.
- The sweepThe stroke that turns a good-length spinning delivery into a scoring opportunity — the conventional sweep, the slog sweep and the reverse sweep, and the LBW risk each one accepts.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Rule
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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