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LIVE DATA For scorers

Laws

01

What the scorer actually writes when a law shows up in a club game, law by law.

01For scorers

Bad light and stoppages

The umpires decide when light is too poor to play safely. The scorer freezes the book, records the time, and writes the overs lost so the match can be restarted and, if needed, decided.

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02For scorers

Bowled and stumped

Bowled means the ball hits the stumps and removes a bail. Stumped means the wicket-keeper removes a bail while the batter is out of the ground and not attempting a run.

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03For scorers

Byes and leg-byes

Byes and leg-byes are runs that come from the ball missing the bat and the batter’s body. They are legal deliveries, and the runs go to the extras, not to the batter or the bowler.

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04For scorers

Caught, and caught and bowled

A catch is taken when a fielder holds the ball cleanly before it touches the ground. A caught and bowled is a catch off the bowler’s own delivery, and the book records both names.

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05For scorers

DLS for scorers

DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) revises a chasing target when overs are lost, using remaining batting resources, not a simple run-rate sum.

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06For scorers

Declarations

A declaration closes an innings before all out. The batting captain decides when, and the scorer writes the time and the score at that moment.

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07For scorers

Extras: wides, no-balls, byes, leg-byes

Extras are runs that do not come off the bat in the usual way: wides, no-balls, byes, and leg-byes. They still belong in the innings total.

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08For scorers

Handled the ball and obstructing the field

Two rarely seen dismissals: a batter handles the ball without permission, or obstructs a fielder deliberately. Both are recorded as the mode, and both are decided by the umpire.

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09For scorers

Hit the ball twice

A batter is out if they strike the ball a second time, deliberately, without the fielders’ consent and not to protect the wicket. It is written as "hb twice".

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10For scorers

Hit wicket

A batter is out hit wicket when their bat or body knocks off a bail while they are playing a stroke or running. The bowler takes the wicket.

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11For scorers

LBW for scorers

Leg before wicket is decided by the umpire, not the scorer. The book records the decision as given, with the mode, and never second-guesses the finger.

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12For scorers

Maiden overs

A maiden is an over in which the bowler concedes no runs. Byes and leg-byes do not break a maiden, but wides and no-balls do, which is where most club scorers go wrong.

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13For scorers

Net run rate for club tables

Net run rate is runs scored per over faced minus runs conceded per over bowled, using the overs actually available when a side is all out.

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14For scorers

No-balls and free hits

A no-ball is an illegal delivery. It adds a run to the batting side, is not a legal ball, and in limited-overs cricket is usually followed by a free hit.

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15For scorers

Overs, bowler limits and the new ball

Six legal balls make an over. A bowler cannot bowl two overs in a row, and the playing conditions set how many overs each bowler may bowl and when the new ball is taken.

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16For scorers

Penalty runs

Penalty runs are runs awarded to the batting side for certain offences by the fielding side. They are not credited to the batter or the bowler, and the scorer records the reason.

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17For scorers

Powerplay, for people keeping the book

A powerplay is a block of overs with fielding restrictions. The scorer's job is to know which over the restriction starts and ends, not to umpire the circle.

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18For scorers

Retired hurt and retired out

A batter who leaves injured is retired hurt and not out, and may come back. A batter who leaves for another reason can be retired out, which counts as a dismissal.

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19For scorers

Run out for scorers

A batter is run out when a fielder breaks the wicket with the ball in hand while the batter is out of the ground and not safe. The scorer records who threw or broke the wicket and who was out.

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20For scorers

Substitutes and concussion replacements

Where the playing conditions allow it, a substitute can field for an injured player or replace a concussed batter or bowler. The scorer records who was on and who came off, and why.

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21For scorers

Super over, for scorers

A super over is a new, tiny innings used to break a tie. It has its own batters, bowler, and extras. It is not "continue the previous book".

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22For scorers

The dead ball

A dead ball is one the umpire has called dead, or that has ended for another reason. Runs and dismissals cannot happen off a dead ball, so the scorer has to know exactly when the ball stopped being in play.

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23For scorers

The follow-on

The follow-on lets the side batting first make the trailing side bat again straight after the first innings, when the first-innings lead is large enough. The captain decides whether to enforce it.

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24For scorers

The toss

The toss decides who bats first. The captains call, the coin is tossed, and the winner chooses to bat or field. The scorer records the result before the first ball.

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25For scorers

Tie, no-result, and abandoned

A tie means both sides finished with the same score under the playing conditions. A no-result means the match could not produce a winner. Abandoned means it never became a match that counts.

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26For scorers

Timed out

A new batter who does not arrive at the crease within two minutes of the previous dismissal can be given out timed out. It is rare, and it is a dismissal without a bowler credit.

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27For scorers

Unfair play and ball tampering

Unfair play covers acts that break the spirit of the game, including changing the condition of the ball. The umpires decide, award penalty runs where the Laws allow, and report serious cases.

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FAQ

Questions about the laws

01 Which laws matter most for a club scorer?
The ones that change the book every over: the legal ball and the over, wides and no-balls, byes and leg-byes, and the dismissals. Start with the extras and the caught, bowled and run-out guides.
02 Do these guides replace the MCC Laws of Cricket?
No. They explain how a scorer records each rule. The MCC Laws are the reference, and your competition’s playing conditions decide any local change.
03 What is the difference between a law and a playing condition?
A law is the MCC rule that applies everywhere unless changed. A playing condition is a local rule the competition sets for its own matches, such as overs, powerplays or DLS use.
04 Which law should I check before a match?
The playing conditions: overs per side, bowler limits, powerplays, DLS, the super over, and the minimum overs for a result.