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Law 1 The players
Law 3 The umpires
Law
2 Substitutes and runners; batsman or fielder Law 4 The scorers
leaving the field; batsman retiring; batsman
commencing innings
LAW 1 THE PLAYERS
1. Number of players
A match is played between two sides, each of eleven players, one of whom shall
be
captain. By agreement a match may be played between sides of more or less than
eleven players, but not more than eleven players may field
at any time.
2. Nomination of players
Each captain shall nominate his players in writing to one of the umpires before
the toss.
No player may be changed after the nomination without the consent of the opposing
captain.
3. Captain
If at any time the captain is not available, a deputy shall act for him.
(a) If a captain is not available during the period in which the toss is to take
place,
then the deputy must be responsible for the nomination of the players, if this has
not already been done, and for the toss. See 2 above and Law 12.4
(The toss).
(b) At any time after the toss, the deputy must be one of the nominated players
4. Responsibility of captains
The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted
within the
spirit and traditions of the game as well as within the Laws. See The Preamble – The
Spirit of Cricket and Law 42.1 (Fair and unfair play -
responsibility of captains).
LAW 2 SUBSTITUTES AND RUNNERS
BATSMAN OR FIELDER LEAVING THE FIELD
BATSMAN RETIRING
BATSMAN COMMENCING INNINGS
1. Substitutes and runners
(a) If the umpires are satisfied that a player has been injured or
become ill after the
nomination of the players, they shall allow that player to
have
(i) a substitute acting instead of him in the field.
(ii) a runner when batting.
Any injury or illness that occurs at any time after the nomination of the
players until
the conclusion of the match shall be allowable, irrespective of whether play is in
progress or not.
(b) The umpires shall have discretion, for other wholly acceptable reasons, to
allow a
substitute for a fielder, or a runner for a batsman, at the start of the match or at any
subsequent time.
(c) A player wishing to change his shirt, boots, etc. must leave the field to
do so.
No substitute shall be allowed for him.
2. Objection to substitutes
The opposing captain shall have no right of objection to any player acting as a
substitute
on the field, nor as to where the substitute shall field. However, no substitute shall act as
wicket-keeper. See 3 below.
3. Restrictions on the role of substitutes
A substitute shall not be allowed to bat or bowl nor to act as wicket-keeper
or as captain
on the field of play.
4. A player for whom a substitute has acted
A player is allowed to bat, bowl or field even though a substitute has
previously acted for
him.
5. Fielder absent or leaving the field
If a fielder fails to take the field with his side at the start of the match
or at any later time,
or leaves the field during a session of play,
(a) the umpire shall be informed of the reason for his absence.
(b) he shall not thereafter come on to the field during a session of play
without consent
of the umpire. See 6 below. The umpire shall give such consent as soon as is
practicable.
(c) if he is absent for 15 minutes or longer, he shall not be permitted to bowl
thereafter,
subject to (i), (ii) or (iii) below, until he has been on the field for at least that length of
playing time for which he was absent.
Note: (i) Absence or penalty for time absent shall not be carried over into a
new day’s
play.
(ii) If, in the case of a follow-on or forfeiture, a side fields for
two consecutive
innings this restriction shall, subject to (i) above, continue as necessary into the
second innings but shall not otherwise be carried over into a
new innings.
(iii) The time lost for an unscheduled break in play shall be counted as time on
the
field for any fielder who comes on to the field at the resumption of play.
See Law 15.1 (An interval).
6. Player returning without permission
If a player comes on to the field of play in contravention of 5(b) above and
comes into
contact with the ball while it is in play
(i) the ball shall immediately become dead and the umpire shall award 5 penalty
runs to the batting side. See Law 42.17 (Penalty runs). The ball shall not count
as one of the over.
(ii) the umpire shall inform the other umpire, the captain of the fielding side,
the
batsmen and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of the
reason for this action.
(iii) the umpires together shall report the occurrence as soon as possible to
the
Executive of the fielding side and any Governing Body responsible for the
match, who shall take such action as is considered appropriate against
the
captain and player concerned.
7. Runner
The player acting as a runner for a batsman shall be a member of the batting
side and
shall, if possible, have already batted in that innings. The runner
shall wear external
protective equipment equivalent to that worn by the batsman for whom he runs and shall
carry a bat.
8. Transgression of the Laws by a batsman who has a runner
(a) A batsman’s runner is subject to the Laws. He will be regarded as a batsman
except where there are specific provisions for his role as a runner. See 7 above
and Law 29.2 (Which is a batsman’s ground).
(b) A batsman with a runner will suffer the penalty for any infringement of the
Laws by
his runner as though he had been himself responsible for the
infringement.
In
particular he will be out if his runner is out under any of Laws 33 (Handled
the ball),
37 (Obstructing the field) or 38 (Run out).
(c) When a batsman with a runner is striker he remains himself subject to the
Laws and
will be liable to the penalties that any infringement of them demands.
Additionally,
if he is out of his ground when the wicket is put down at the wicket-keeper’s end,
he will be out in the circumstances of Law 38 (Run out) or Law 39 (Stumped)
irrespective of the position of the non-striker or of the
runner. If he is thus dismissed,
runs completed by the runner and the other batsman before the dismissal shall not
be scored. However, the penalty for a No ball or
a Wide shall stand, together with
any penalties to either side that may be awarded when the ball is dead. See Law
42.17 (Penalty runs).
(d) When a batsman with a runner is not the striker
(i) he remains subject to Laws 33 (Handled the ball) and 37 (Obstructing the
field)
but is otherwise out of the game.
(ii) he shall stand where directed by the striker’s end umpire so as not to
interfere
with play.
(iii) he will be liable, notwithstanding (i) above, to the penalty demanded by
the
Laws should he commit any act of unfair play.
9. Batsman leaving the field or retiring
A batsman may retire at any time during his innings. The umpires, before
allowing play to
proceed, shall be informed of the reason for a batsman retiring.
(a) If a batsman retires because of illness, injury or any other unavoidable
cause, he is
entitled to resume his innings subject to (c) below.
If for any reason he does not do
so, his innings is to be recorded as ‘Retired –
not out’.
(b) If a batsman retires for any reason other than as in (a) above, he may only
resume
his innings with the consent of the opposing captain. If for any reason he does
not resume his innings it is to be recorded as
‘Retired – out’.
(c) If after retiring a batsman resumes his innings, it shall be
only at the fall of a wicket
or the retirement of another batsman.
10. Commencement of a batsman’s innings
Except at the start of a side’s innings, a batsman shall be considered to
have
commenced his innings when he first steps on to the field of play, provided Time has
not been called. The innings of the opening batsmen, and that
of any new batsman at
the resumption of play after a call of Time, shall commence at the call of Play.
LAW 3 THE UMPIRES
1. Appointment and attendance
Before the match, two umpires shall be appointed, one for each end, to control
the game
as required by the Laws, with absolute impartiality. The umpires shall be present on the
ground and report to the Executive of the
ground at least 45 minutes before the
scheduled start of each day’s play.
2. Change of umpire
An umpire shall not be changed during the match, other than in exceptional
circumstances, unless he is injured or ill. If there has to be a change of
umpire, the
replacement shall act only as the striker’s end umpire unless the captains agree that he
should take full responsibility as an umpire.
3. Agreement with captains
Before the toss the umpires shall
(a) ascertain the hours of play and agree with the captains
(i) the balls to be used during the match. See Law 5 (The ball).
(ii) times and durations of intervals for meals and times for
drinks intervals.
See Law 15 (Intervals).
(iii) the boundary of the field of play and allowances for boundaries. See Law
19
(Boundaries).
(iv) any special conditions of play affecting the conduct of the
match
(b) inform the scorers of the agreements in (ii), (iii) and (iv) above.
4. To inform captains and scorers
Before the toss the umpires shall agree between themselves and inform both
captains
and both scorers
(i) which clock or watch and back-up time piece is to be used
during the match.
(ii) whether or not any obstacle within the field of play is to be regarded as a
boundary. See Law 19 (Boundaries).
5. The wickets, creases and boundaries
Before the toss and during the match, the umpires shall satisfy themselves that
(i) the wickets are properly pitched. See Law 8 (The wickets).
(ii) the creases are correctly marked. See Law 9 (The bowling, popping and
return creases).
iii) the boundary of the field of play complies with requirements of Law
19.2
(Defining the boundary – boundary marking).
6. Conduct of the game, implements and equipment
Before the toss and during the match, the umpires shall satisfy themselves that
(a) the conduct of the game is strictly in accordance with the Laws.
(b) the implements of the game conform to the requirements of Laws 5 (The ball)
and 6 (The bat), together with either Laws 8.2 (Size of stumps) and 8.3 (The
bails) or, if appropriate, Law 8.4 (Junior cricket).
(c) (i) no player uses equipment other than that permitted.
(ii) the wicket-keeper’s gloves comply with the requirements of Law 40.2
(Gloves).
7. Fair and unfair play
The umpires shall be the sole judges of fair and unfair play.
8. Fitness of ground, weather and light
The umpires shall be the final judges of the fitness of the ground, weather and
light for
play. See 9 below and Law 7.2 (Fitness of the pitch for play).
9. Suspension of play for adverse conditions of ground, weather or light
(a) (i) All references to ground include the pitch. See Law 7.1 (Area of pitch).
(ii) For the purpose of this Law and Law 15.9(b)(ii) (Intervals for drinks)
only, the
batsmen at the wicket may deputise for their captain at any appropriate time.
(b) If at any time the umpires together agree that the condition of the
ground, weather
or light is not suitable for play, they shall inform the captains
and, unless
(i) in unsuitable ground or weather conditions both captains agree to continue,
or to commence, or to restart play,or
(ii) in
unsuitable light the batting side wish to continue, or to commence, or to
restart play, they shall suspend play, or not allow play to commence or to restart.
(c) (i) After agreeing to play in unsuitable ground or weather conditions,
either captain
may appeal against the conditions to the umpires before the next call of Time.
The umpires shall uphold the appeal only if, in their
opinion, the factors taken
into account when making their previous decision are the same or the conditions
have further deteriorated.
(ii) After deciding to play in unsuitable light, the captain of the batting side
may
appeal against the light to the umpires before the next call of Time. The umpires
shall uphold the appeal only if, in their opinion, the factors
taken into account
when making their
previous decision are the same or the condition of the light
has further deteriorated.
(d) If at any time the umpires together agree that the conditions of ground,
weather or
light are so bad that there is obvious and foreseeable risk to the safety of any player
or umpire, so that it would be unreasonable or dangerous for play to take place,
then
notwithstanding the provisions of (b)(i) and
(b)(ii) above, they shall immediately
suspend play, or not allow play to
commence or to restart. The decision as to
whether conditions are so bad as to warrant such action is one for the umpires
alone to make.
The fact that the grass and the ball are wet and slippery does not warrant the
ground
conditions being regarded as unreasonable or dangerous. If the umpires consider
the ground is so wet or slippery as to deprive the bowler of a
reasonable foothold,
the fielders of the power of free movement, or the batsmen of the ability to play their
strokes or to run between the wickets, then
these conditions shall be regarded as so
bad that it would be unreasonable for play to take place.
(e) When there is a suspension of play it is the responsibility of the umpires
to monitor
the conditions. They shall make inspections as often as appropriate and
unaccompanied by any of the players or officials. Immediately the umpires together
agree that conditions are suitable for play they shall call upon the players to resume
the game.
(f) If play is in progress up to the start of an agreed interval then it will
resume after the
interval unless the umpires together agree that conditions are
or have become
unsuitable or dangerous. If they do so agree, then they shall implement the
procedure in (b) or (d) above, as appropriate, whether or not there
had been any
decision by the captains to continue, or any appeal against the
conditions by either
captain, prior to the commencement of the interval.
10. Exceptional circumstances
The umpires shall have the discretion to implement the procedures of 9 above for
reasons other than ground, weather or light if they consider that exceptional
circumstances warrant it.
11. Position of umpires
The umpires shall stand where they can best see any act upon which their
decision may
be required. Subject to this over-riding consideration the umpire at the bowler’s end
shall stand
where he does not interfere with either the
bowler’s run up or the striker’s view. The
umpire at the striker’s end may
elect
to stand on the off side instead of the on side of
the pitch, provided he
informs the captain of the fielding side, the striker and the other
umpire of
his intention to do so.
12. Umpires changing ends
The umpires shall change ends after each side has had one completed innings.
See Law 14.2 (Forfeiture of an innings).
13. Consultation between umpires
All disputes shall be determined by the umpires. The umpires shall consult with
each
other whenever necessary. See also Law 27.6 (Consultation by
umpires).
14. Signals
(a) The following code of signals shall be used by umpires.
(i) Signals made while the ball is in play
Dead
ball - by crossing and re-crossing the wrists below the waist.
No ball - by extending one arm horizontally.
Out - by raising an index finger above the head. (If not out the
umpire shall call Not out.)
Wide - by extending both arms horizontally.
(ii) When the ball
is dead, the signals above, with the exception of the signal
for Out, shall be
repeated to the scorers.
The signals listed below shall be made to the scorers only when the ball
is dead.
Boundary 4 - by waving an arm from side to side finishing with the
arm across the chest.
Boundary
6 - by raising both arms above the head.
Bye - by raising an open hand above the head.
Commencement
of last hour - by pointing to a raised wrist with the other hand.
Five penalty
runs
to batting side - by repeated tapping of one shoulder with the
opposite
hand.
Five penalty runs
to
fielding side - by placing one hand on the opposite shoulder
Leg bye - by touching a raised knee with the hand.
New ball - by holding the ball above the head.
Revoke last signal - by touching both shoulders, each with the
opposite hand.
Short run - by bending one arm upwards and touching the
nearer
shoulder with the tips of the fingers.
(b) The umpires shall wait until each signal to the scorers has been
separately
acknowledged by a scorer before allowing play to proceed.
15. Correctness of scores
Consultation between umpires and scorers on doubtful points is essential. The
umpires
shall satisfy themselves as to the correctness of the number of runs scored, the wickets
that have fallen and, where appropriate, the number of overs bowled. They shall agree
these with the scorers at least at every
interval, other than a drinks interval, and at the
conclusion of the match. See
Laws 4.2 (Correctness of scores), 21.8 (Correctness of
result) and 21.10 Result not to be changed).
LAW 4 THE SCORERS
1. Appointment of scorers
Two
scorers shall be appointed to record all runs scored, all wickets taken and,
where
appropriate, number of overs bowled.
2. Correctness of scores
The scorers shall frequently check to ensure that their records agree. They
shall agree
with the umpires, at least at every interval, other than a drinks interval, and at the
conclusion of the match, the runs scored, the
wickets that have fallen and, where
appropriate, the number of overs bowled. See Law 3.15 (Correctness of scores).
3. Acknowledging signals
The scorers shall accept all instructions and signals given to them by the
umpires. They
shall immediately acknowledge each separate signal.
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