The Ten Ways a Batter Can Be Out in Cricket

By the Live Cricket Zone editorial team · Last reviewed 17 September 2026

The Laws of Cricket, maintained by the MCC, list ten ways a batter can be dismissed. Five account for almost every wicket you will see; the other five are rare enough that a single instance makes headlines. This guide explains each one and the fine print that decides marginal decisions.

The five common dismissals

1. Bowled

The ball delivered by the bowler hits the stumps and dislodges at least one bail. It does not matter whether the ball touched the bat or the batter first, so a ball that deflects off the pad or the inside edge onto the stumps is still bowled. If the bails are not dislodged (the ball brushes the stumps but they stay put, or the ball lodges between them), the batter is not out. Since 2017 the Laws also allow bails to be dislodged even if they later fall back into place if the umpires judge they were completely removed.

2. Caught

The ball touches the bat (or a glove holding the bat) and is caught by a fielder before it touches the ground. The fielder must have control of the ball and of their own movement, and must be inside the boundary or, if airborne, must have last touched the ground inside it. A catch off the ball's second bounce is not a catch. A ball caught after it has struck only the pad or body is not out, and a catch taken by a helmet or clothing rather than hands is not out either. The batters cross, so the non-striker's position at the moment of the catch decides who faces next.

3. Leg before wicket (LBW)

The most technical dismissal. A batter is out LBW when a ball that has not touched the bat hits their body and the umpire judges it would have gone on to hit the stumps, provided three further conditions are met. The ball must not have pitched outside the line of leg stump. It must have struck the batter in line between wicket and wicket, unless the batter was not attempting to play a shot, in which case an impact outside the line of off stump can still be out. And the ball must not have hit the bat first. A batter who offers no shot therefore takes on much more LBW risk. Ball-tracking technology used in the Decision Review System tests exactly these conditions.

4. Run out

A batter is run out if, while the ball is in play and they are out of their ground, the fielding side breaks the wicket at the end they are running towards. Being out of the ground means no part of the bat or body is grounded behind the popping crease. Having the bat in the air over the line does not count, which is why batters slide the bat along the ground. A run-out at the non-striker's end before the bowler releases the ball, once called a "Mankad" and long treated as against the spirit of the game, was moved into the run-out law in 2022 and is a normal dismissal.

5. Stumped

If the striker leaves the crease to play and misses, and the wicketkeeper breaks the wicket with the ball before the batter gets back, the batter is stumped. It is not stumped if the ball was a no-ball, but it can be stumped off a wide. If any fielder other than the keeper breaks the wicket it is a run out, not a stumping.

The five rare dismissals

6. Hit wicket

The striker breaks their own wicket with the bat or any part of their body or equipment while receiving a delivery or setting off for a first run. A helmet falling onto the stumps counts. It is not out if the batter was avoiding a run-out or if the delivery was a no-ball.

7. Obstructing the field

A batter who wilfully obstructs or distracts the fielding side by word or action is out. This law now also covers what was until 2017 the separate dismissal of handled the ball: a batter who deliberately handles the ball without the fielding side's consent is out obstructing the field. Changing direction to block a throw at the stumps is the usual modern example.

8. Hit the ball twice

A batter who deliberately strikes the ball a second time, other than to guard their wicket, is out. Batters may knock a ball away from the stumps after it has been played, which is why this dismissal is so rare.

9. Timed out

After a wicket, the incoming batter must be ready to receive the next ball within three minutes under the Laws, reduced to two minutes in ICC international playing conditions. If they are not, the fielding side may appeal and the batter is out without facing a ball. It had never happened in international cricket until the 2023 World Cup, when Angelo Mathews became the first player to be timed out.

10. Retired out

A batter who leaves the field for any reason other than injury or illness, without the umpire's consent, is retired out and cannot resume. It has been used tactically in T20 cricket to bring in a faster scorer. A batter who leaves injured is retired hurt, is not out, and may return later in the innings.

Dismissals that do not count against the bowler

Bowled, caught, LBW, stumped and hit wicket are credited to the bowler. Run out, obstructing the field, hit the ball twice, timed out and retired out are not, which is why a bowler's wicket tally can be lower than the number of batters dismissed during their overs. On the scorecard, the bowler's name is omitted from these dismissals.

A batter cannot be given out bowled, LBW, caught, stumped or hit wicket off a no-ball; only run out, obstructing the field, hit the ball twice and retired out remain possible. Off a wide, a batter can still be stumped, run out, hit wicket or out obstructing the field.