Hit wicket

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Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in play, his wicket is put down by his bat or his person. [1] The striker may do this whilst preparing to receive or receiving a delivery or in setting off for his first run after playing the delivery. In simple language, if the striking batsman knocks the bails off the stumps or uproots the stumps, while attempting to hit the ball or take off for a run, he is out hit wicket.

Contents

This method is the sixth most common method of dismissal after caught, bowled, leg before wicket, run out and stumped. It is significantly rarer than any of these, which constitute the five conventional methods, but still much more common than the other four (timed out, obstructing the field, retired out and hit the ball twice), which are extremely rare.

Although a bowler is given credit for the wicket, it is not a method of dismissal that a bowler actively seeks. A batsman may not be given out "hit wicket" if the ball is not actually delivered by the bowler or if the delivery is a no-ball.

As of 17 March 2024, batsmen have been dismissed hit wicket a total of 164 times in Test cricket, [2] 77 times in One Day Internationals [3] and 33 in Twenty20 Internationals. [4] In the women's game, a player has been dismissed 12 times in this manner in Tests, [5] 8 in women's ODIs, [6] and 15 in women's Twenty20 International matches. [7]

Notable dismissals

Due to the rarity of this method of dismissal, many occurrences in international cricket are notable.

Commentary gaffe

On 9 August 1991, during a match between England and the West Indies at the Oval, Ian Botham fell over his stumps whilst attempting to hook Curtly Ambrose and so was dismissed "hit wicket". Later in the day, Brian Johnston of BBC Radio's Test Match Special read out the details of the scorecard as normal. When he came to Botham's dismissal, his fellow presenter Jonathan Agnew commented that Botham 'just didn't quite get his leg over'. This was a double entendre meaning that he was not able to avoid hitting his stumps by getting his leg higher than the stumps, and also a reference to sex. Johnston slowly started laughing until he could commentate no more, leaving about a minute of broadcasting being just him in a fit of giggles. [8]

Disintegrating bat

In the first innings of the 3rd Test in the 1921 Ashes series, at Headingley, Andy Ducat, playing in his only Test for England, fended at a fast ball bowled by Australia's Ted McDonald. Ducat's bat broke, and a splinter flew back and dislodged a bail, the ball being caught behind by a slip fielder. Ducat was given out "caught", although it seems likely that he could also have been given out "hit wicket". [9]

Later in 1921, in the 2nd Test between Australia and South Africa at Old Wanderers in Johannesburg, McDonald dismissed Billy Zulch in a similar fashion, breaking the batsman's bat so that fragments flew back to dislodge a bail, and Zulch was given out "hit wicket". [10]

After these incidents, the MCC clarified that the whole bat must break the wicket for the batsman to be given out "hit wicket". However, effective 1 October 2010, this law has been changed to allow a batsman to be dismissed "hit wicket" if a splinter, or part of his bat, breaks the wicket.

Flying gloves

Playing for Derbyshire against Surrey at the Oval in 1953, Alan Revill's hand was hit by a lifting delivery from Alec Bedser. Revill shook his hand in pain, and his glove flew off, hit the stumps, and dislodged a bail. The umpire considered that Revill was still "playing at the ball", and he was dismissed "hit wicket". [10]

Falling headgear

In Test cricket, a number of batsmen have been out "hit wicket" as a result of headgear falling onto the stumps.

In the 2nd Test between Australia and the West Indies in Melbourne in 1960–61 (the Test immediately after the famous Tied Test at Brisbane), Joe Solomon was first out in the second innings, following on. Playing back to a topspinner bowled by Richie Benaud, his cap fell off and dislodged a bail, so he was out "hit wicket". [11] The Australian crowd thought the dismissal was unsporting, and booed their own side.

In Warwickshire's County Championship match against Hampshire at Edgbaston in 1962, M. J. K. Smith was dismissed when a gust of wind blew his cap on to his wicket. [10] [12]

Two Indian cricketers have been dismissed in a similar fashion – Ashok Mankad by England's Chris Old during the 3rd Test at Edgbaston in July 1974, [13] and Dilip Vengsarkar by Australia's Jeff Thomson during the 1st Test at Brisbane in December 1977. [14]

In the 3rd One Day International between New Zealand and Australia in Dunedin in February 2000, New Zealand's Adam Parore had his helmet knocked off by a short-pitched delivery from Brett Lee. The helmet fell into the stumps, and Parore was also out "hit wicket", causing some disturbance in the crowd. [10] [15]

In the 3rd Test between England and West Indies at Old Trafford on 9 June 2007, Kevin Pietersen was out "hit wicket" when his helmet fell onto the stumps. The bowler was Dwayne Bravo, who bowled a good bouncer that dislodged the helmet. Replays suggested that the force of the ball broke the chinstrap, freeing the lid to strike the stumps.

Other strange hit wicket dismissals

Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq was also out "hit wicket" in the 3rd Test against England at Headingley on 6 August 2006, as he attempted to sweep England spinner Monty Panesar and in doing so lost his balance before falling backwards onto his stumps. He attempted to jump over the stumps, but completely fell on top of them.

One of the more bizarre hit wicket dismissals was of Sri Lanka national cricket team former captain Kumar Sangakkara in the finals of the triangular ODI Compaq Cup against India at Colombo on 14 September 2009, as he attempted a shot and in the follow through his bat slipped out of his hands, flew backwards in the air and landed on the stumps.

On 1 December 2017, West Indian player Sunil Ambris became the first player to be dismissed hit wicket on debut, also getting out for a golden duck. He proceeded to get out the same way in the very next game, becoming the only player to be out this way twice in consecutive games.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicket-keeper</span> Fielding position in cricket

The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-keeper is the only member of the fielding side permitted to wear gloves and external leg guards. The role of the keeper is governed by Law 27 and of the Laws of Cricket.

Cricket is a sport that generates a variety of statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dismissal (cricket)</span> Cricket terminology

In cricket, a dismissal occurs when a batter's innings is brought to an end by the opposing team. Other terms used are the batter being out, the batting side losing a wicket, and the fielding side taking a wicket. The ball becomes dead, and the dismissed batter must leave the field of play for the rest of their team's innings, to be replaced by a team-mate. A team's innings ends if ten of the eleven team members are dismissed. Players bat in pairs so, when only one batter remains who can be not out, it is not possible for the team to bat any longer. This is known as dismissing or bowling out the batting team, who are said to be all out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run (cricket)</span> Unit of scoring in cricket

In cricket, a run is the unit of scoring. The team with the most runs wins in many versions of the game, and always draws at worst, except for some results decided by the DLS method, which is used in rain-shortened limited-overs games when the two teams have had a different number of opportunities to score runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handled the ball</span> Former method of dismissing a batsman in cricket

Handled the ball was formerly one of the methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket, but was integrated into the Law on obstructing the field when the Laws of Cricket were rewritten in 2017. It dictated that either batsman can be given out if they intentionally touch the ball with a hand that is not holding their bat. An exception was given if the batsman handled the ball to avoid injury. It was governed by Law 33 of the 2000 Edition of the Laws, and was a rare way for a batsman to be dismissed: in the history of cricket, there have been 61 instances in first-class matches and 5 occasions in List A games. In most cases this occurred when a batsman thought that the ball was going to hit their wicket, and knocked it away from the stumps with their hand.

Obstructing the field is one of the nine methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is Law 37 of the Laws of cricket, and is a rare way for a batsman to be dismissed; in the history of cricket, there has been only two instances in Test matches, nine in One Day International (ODI) matches, and six in Twenty20 International matches. There have also been seven instances in Test cricket, and two in ODIs, where a batsman has been dismissed handled the ball, a mode of dismissal now folded into obstructing the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowled</span> Term in cricket

In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caught</span> Cricket dismissal method; the ball does not hit the ground after it is batted

Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scorer (cricket)</span> Recorder of runs, wickets, and overs

In cricket, a scorer is someone appointed to record all runs scored, all wickets taken and, where appropriate, the number of overs bowled. In professional games, in compliance with Law 3 of the Laws of Cricket, two scorers are appointed, most often one provided by each team.

The Ball of the Century, also referred to as the Gatting Ball or simply That Ball, is a cricket delivery bowled by Australian spin bowler Shane Warne to English batter Mike Gatting on 4 June 1993, the second day of the first Test of the 1993 Ashes series, at Old Trafford in Manchester. With his first ball against England, in his first Ashes Test, Warne produced a spectacular delivery that bowled Gatting out. It became recognised as being of significance not just in the context of the match, but more generally in signalling a revival of leg spin bowling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stumped</span> Method of dismissal in cricket

Stumped is a method of dismissing a batter in cricket, in which the wicket-keeper puts down the striker's wicket while the striker is out of their ground. It is governed by Law 39 of the Laws of Cricket.

The English cricket team toured India during February, March and April 2006. The English cricket team was aspiring to maintain the form that took them to second place in the ICC Test Championship and helped them to win the 2005 Ashes series at home to Australia. This goal was substantially hindered by an injury to the captain Michael Vaughan; the swing bowler Simon Jones and the absence of Ashley Giles who missed the tour for an operation. As well as this, stand-in captain Marcus Trescothick flew home for "personal reasons", not wishing to divulge further, leaving Andrew Flintoff, who missed the birth of his son, to take on the title of skipper for the first time having to captain two maiden international cricketers on the English side: Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel made their debuts for the home team.

References

  1. ↑ "Law 35 – Hit wicket". lords.org. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Batsmen dismissed by hit wicket in Test cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Batsmen dismissed by hit wicket in One Day International cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "Batsmen dismissed by hit wicket in Twenty20 International cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Players dismissed by hit wicket in women's Test cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Players dismissed by hit wicket in women's One Day International cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Players dismissed by hit wicket in women's Twenty20 International cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "Presenter profiles | Jonathan Agnew". Test Match Special. BBC Sport. 3 May 2003. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "AUS vs ENG Cricket Scorecard, 3rd Test at Adelaide, January 14 - 20, 1921". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "The XI freakish dismissals". ESPNcricinfo. 2 January 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "AUS vs WI Cricket Scorecard, 2nd Test at Melbourne, December 30, 1960 - January 03, 1961". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Warwickshire v Hampshire in 1962". Warwickshire Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "ENG vs IND Cricket Scorecard, 3rd Test at Birmingham, July 04 - 08, 1974". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "AUS vs IND Cricket Scorecard, 1st Test at Brisbane, December 02 - 06, 1977". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "NZ vs AUS Cricket Scorecard, 3rd ODI at Dunedin, February 23, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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