Dismissal (cricket)
In cricket, a dismissal occurs when a batter's innings is brought to an end by the opposing team.
The ball becomes dead (meaning that no further runs can be scored off that delivery), 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.
The most common methods of dismissing a batter are (in descending order of frequency): caught, bowled, leg before wicket, run out, and stumped.
[4] If the umpire believes they have incorrectly dismissed a batter, they may recall them to the crease if they have not already left the field of play.
An example of this was in the 2007 Lord's test match between England and India when Kevin Pietersen was initially given out caught behind, but was recalled when television replays showed that the ball had bounced before being taken by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
[5] A batter can be dismissed in a number of ways, the most common being bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), run out and stumped.
Len Hutton,[7] Desmond Haynes,[8] and Steve Waugh[9] were each dismissed in seven different ways over the course of their test career.
A special form of run out is when the batter at the non-striker's end attempts to gain an advantage by leaving the crease before the next ball has been bowled (a common practice known as "backing up", but against the laws of cricket).
With changes in the Laws of Cricket, a bowler cannot Mankad a batter once they reach the point in their delivery where they would normally release the ball.
It is considered good etiquette to warn a batter that he is leaving their crease early, before attempting a Mankad run out on a subsequent ball.
Only two players in Test history have ever been given out in this manner: Marvan Atapattu (for 201) and Mahela Jayawardene (for 150), both in the same innings playing for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in September 2001.
[15] Apparently, this was done in order to give the other players batting practice, but was considered unsporting and drew criticism.
[19] If the batter dislodges their own stumps with their body or bat, while in the process of taking a shot or beginning their first run, then they are out.
This law also applies if part of the batter's equipment is dislodged and hits the stumps: Dwayne Bravo hit Kevin Pietersen in the head with a bouncer and his helmet hit the stumps during the 2007 England vs West Indies Test match at Old Trafford; a topspinner from Richie Benaud once knocked off Joe Solomon's cap, and the cap landed on Solomon's stumps.
[20] A more recent example of a comic hit-wicket dismissal was during the Headingley Test match in the 2006 test series between England and Pakistan, when Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq missed a sweep against Monty Panesar, was hit in the midriff by the ball, lost his balance and collapsed on to his stumps (and nearly into wicket-keeper Chris Read).
Only one player has ever been out obstructing the field in a Test match: England's Len Hutton, playing against South Africa at the Oval in London in 1951, knocked a ball away from his stumps but in doing so prevented South African wicket-keeper Russell Endean from completing a catch.
[23] An incoming batter is "timed out" if they willfully take more than three minutes to be ready to face the next delivery (or be at the other end if not on strike).
[25] Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to be dismissed in this fashion in an international fixture, in a group stage match against Bangladesh in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
[26] Before the amendments of the Laws in 2017, there was a separate dismissal type of Handled the ball which is now covered by Obstructing the field.
