What is Wide Ball and Its Rule in Cricket?

Cricket became one of the prominent sports played across millions of people in India, England, Australia, and South Africa. This is the most expected game that needs skill, strategy, and teamwork. Of course, there are rules meant for fair play in cricket. One such prominent rule concerning the "wide-ball" is the prime trouble to this most beautiful sport.

Before we get into what a wide ball in cricket is, let's quickly understand the simple basics of the game. There is a team of 11 members, who are divided to play against their opponent. Included is a rectangular field where the matches of cricket are played. In between the field, there is a central game zone called the pitch. 

Three stumps of wood are wedged into the circular holes, which are positioned at either end, either side of the pitch. These three sticks are popularly known as the wickets. The matches played have different formats, starting from Test cricket, One Day Internationals, and Twenty20 matches. The scoring team in cricket is the batting side: a batsman hits the ball bowled by the bowler and runs to the opposite side of the pitch. 

The fielding team, on the other hand, is after dismissing the batsman, either by catching the ball, hitting the wickets with the ball, or preventing the ball from reaching the boundary in any way possible.

Wide Ball in Cricket Explained

So, let's answer the question now: what is a wide ball in cricket? A wide ball in cricket is a delivery made by the bowler that is too far from the batsman to be hit comfortably. If a ball is bowled wide of the batsman so as to be out of his reach, and in such a manner that the batsman is rendered incapable of playing a shot, then a 'wide' shall have been bowled. The standing on-field umpire is supposed to make the call if a ball is a wide delivery and will signal if and why it was a wide delivery.

Why Does a Wide Happen?

Obviously, wides can be caused for a number of reasons. While, on the one hand, a bowler might lose control and land the ball in the wrong place, on the other, he might intentionally deliver wide with a view to serve notice to the batsman against playing an umpteenth easy shot. This, however, mostly turns out to be folly in cricket, for wide balls reward extra runs to the batting team.

Wide Ball Meaning in Cricket

The meaning of a wide ball in cricket is pretty simple; it is the ball on which a batsman cannot reach. The umpire calls for a wide by stating the ball, which the bowler has delivered, is way, way out of the reach of the batsman. The meaning of a wide ball in cricket is important to keep the balance of this peculiar game. Without this rule, most of the time the bowlers would be able to just put so much distance between the balls they bowl and the batsman that essentially it would be nearly impossible for the batters to even hit anything, and resistance would not matter in that regard.

Wide Ball Rules in Cricket

The wide ball cricket rules are the ones that keep the match played fairly. Here is the procedure how the rules of wide ball work:

Wide on the leg side: Anything bowled on the leg side of the batsman and far out of his reach turns into a wide ball in most formats of the game. In ODIs and T20s, this could form part of a very strict rule applicable to limited-overs cricket.

Off-Side Wide: Off side is a bit lenient on its ways. If the ball is bowled outside the line of the stumps but within reach of the batsman, then it is not a wide. Only if the ball travels too far away from the batsman in cricket, then it is called a wide.

Width: A bowl delivered too high over the head of the batsman is also treated as a wide ball provided it is within the sideline. Width laws associated with wide ball in cricket rules ensure that the height at which the ball is to be delivered is such that the batsman gets a fair chance of getting hit by the ball.

One Run Penalty: Therefore, in the event of a wide ball, the batting side gets another run, apart from what was hit. All this is summed up in the final total of the team's score and additionally noted in the scorebook.

Re-delivering the Delivery: In most formats, the bowler usually re-delivers the delivery again after being called wide. A wide ball doesn't count as one of the six legal deliveries in an over in the game of cricket.

Fall of wickets in last overs: It is generally seen that in order to prevent runs from wide yorkers, bowlers try to bowl wide yorkers in the last few overs; but the wide ball rule of cricket still holds, so anything bowled too wide is supposed to be penalized.

Umpire's Dilemma in Calling Wide Balls

The laws attached to wide balls in cricket are pretty obvious, and hence, an umpire assumes an integral role to it. Every ball bowled, an umpire has to carefully watch to see if that delivery falls inside the acceptable range. To signal for a wide ball, the umpire will extend both arms horizontally. This action is done to inform the players and scorers that the ball is wide and an extra run will be added to the batting team.

Wide Ball in Different Formats of Cricket

Now, the wide ball in cricket differs a little according to the format of the game. Following is how it works in different formats:

Test Cricket: In Test cricket, the rules regarding wide balls are slightly relaxed. Umpires tend to give their bowlers more leeway, especially on the off side. Though the rule on a leg-side wide is rigidly enforced.

One Day Internationals: The rules for wide balls in ODIs are much tighter, particularly on the leg side. This all has been done to make the game less episodic and competitive, to show the batsmen of good scoring.

Twenty20: In T20 cricket, wide ball rules are at their strictest. Since this is a fast game with plenty of scoring, anything that goes a little away from the batsman is likely to be called wide. It makes the game really exciting and makes sure the bowlers just do not stonewall the batsman from scoring opportunities.

Examples of Wide Balls in Famous Cricket Matches

There have been lots of such instances wherein the game of cricket the wide balls have made all the difference to the course of match results. Like in close matches, it is often a wide ball that can provide extra runs to the batting team to win the match. Too many wide balls in cricket, on the other hand, can be very costly for the bowling team as it adds unnecessary runs to the opponent's scoreboard.

A very classic example is when such an incident happened during the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand. It was such a tight game where literally every run counted. A wide ball at those tense moments during the final over added the extra kick to the already nail-biting finish.

How to Avoid Bowling Wide Balls

The wide balls are also an essential part of cricket whereby he has to keep control over the game not letting any wide balls for bowlers. The below-given are some of the tips to avoid the bowling wide:

Regular Practice for Line and Length: This gives an assurance of hitting within the permissible range of the ball.

Concentration: Bowlers should concentrate on the stamp or maybe a spot on the pitch where they want to deliver the ball; hence they can maintain their accuracy.

Proper Grip: A good grip will assist bowlers in having a better hold of the deliveries and will very effectively diminish the chances of bowling a wide.

Understand the Batsman: Knowing where to bowl and where not to bowl enhances as one knows about the positives and negatives of a batsman. This is going to ensue for a bowler in crafting a delivery and not ensuring that he bows a wide.

Keep Calm Under Pressure: Bowlers should stay calm in a pressurizing situation and adhere to their own plan rather than avoiding runs by bowling wide.

Wide balls in cricket fairly change the fate of a match. For the batting team, wide balls add numbers on the scoreboard without having the risk of being out. To the bowling side, however, that might be quite expensive as it just adds to the number of runs for one's opponent and sometimes compels one to bowl extra deliveries in the oven.

In limited-overs cricket, with every run precious, wide balls can really be harmful. They can change the momentum of the game, particularly in the waning moments when the batting team really looks to maximize as many runs as they can.

Misconceptions about Wide Balls

Most common misconceptions about wide balls in cricket really need some addressing:

All wide balls are always intentional: Some people actually do believe that bowlers bowl wide because of willful intentions to prevent the batsman from getting a hit. While this might be true once in a while, the truth of the matter is that most of the wide balls bowled in cricket occur due to simple accidents and loss of control.

All High Balls are Wides: No, not every high delivery of the over is a wide ball. If a ball flies over a batsman but is at the reachable distance of the batsman, it can be given not as a wide.

Wides Don't Matter Much: Their wide balls don't matter much to some people. So, wide balls do matter in a close game. A large number of wide balls can lead to a situation where a team loses a match.

Conclusion

Thus, what is a wide ball in cricket and the regulations pertaining to that extends to being highly relevant to the player and the viewer. The rules pertaining to wide balls in cricket make the game absolutely fair and competitive for both the bowler and the batsman. Be it playing cricket, viewing, or learning the basics of cricket, knowledge about wide balls will let you appreciate more about the game.

In the basic sense, a wide ball is a delivery that is some distance outside the line of the batsman that allows him to hit comfortably. The umpire calls a wide, and a score of one more run is added to the batting team. Even though there are slight changes in the rules on wides according to the format of the game, what they all drive at is making up a game that is fair and interesting for cricket lovers.

FAQs

What is a Wide Ball in Cricket?

A wide ball is a delivery that travels beyond the reach of the batsman and so he is unable or quite nearly impossible to hit. Then an umpire signals it a wide ball and gives an extra run to the batting team.

How is the wide ball signaled by the umpire in cricket?

A wide in cricket is indicated by the umpire with both arms stretched sideways horizontally. The signal not only means that it was outside the acceptable range but also an extra run added to the batting team's score.

Is a wide ball considered one of the six deliveries in an over in cricket?

No, in cricket, a wide ball is not counted among the six legal deliveries of an over. The delivery has to be re-bowled, and an additional run is also awarded to the batting team.

Are the rules regarding wide balls in cricket exactly the same in all formats of the game?

The rules about the wide ball in cricket do vary very slightly from one format to another. The rules are stricter in T20 so that the game is competitive, and, with Test cricket, umpires may give bowlers that little bit more leeway off side.

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