cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, a free hit is a

delivery Delivery may refer to: Biology and medicine *Childbirth *Drug delivery *Gene delivery Business and law *Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.: **Pizza delivery ** Milk delivery ** Food delivery ** Online grocer *Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...

to a batter in which the batter cannot be dismissed by any methods other than those applicable for a

no-ball In cricket, a no-ball (in the Laws and regulations: "No ball") is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal d ...

, namely

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, in which the fielding team put down the wicket of a batter who is outside their ground, usually because they are trying to score a run. Run out is governed by Law 38 of the laws of cricket. If ...

, hit the ball twice and

obstructing the field Obstructing the field is one of the ten 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 ...

. The rule is used in limited overs matches. When a bowler bowls a

, the immediate next ball is a free hit.

History

It came into international cricket in October 2007. Initially only foot fault no-balls resulted in a free hit. From 2015, the rules were changed so that all no-balls result in a free hit.

Advantage gained

The opportunity afforded by a free hit ball enables the batter to play a more powerful shot without the fear of getting out by any mode that is credited to the bowler, i.e. bowled, caught, LBW,

stumped Stumped is a method of Dismissal (cricket), dismissing a batter (cricket), batter in cricket, in which the wicket-keeper put down the wicket, puts down the wicket of the Glossary_of_cricket_terms#S, striker while the striker is out of their Bat ...

or hit wicket. The fault lies with the fielding side, and the advantage is to the batting side. The only possible modes of dismissal on a free hit delivery are the same as those applicable on a no-ball:

and hit the ball twice. If the batter is

caught 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. If the catch ...

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...

on a free hit delivery, the ball would still be in play and the batter can score runs. In case of bowled, the runs would be awarded to the batsman if the bat made contact with the ball before hitting the stumps; in case of clean bowled the runs are counted under byes. An instance of the latter happened in an ODI between India and England in January 2017, when Liam Plunkett clean bowled

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer who plays as a right-handed batter and a wicket-keeper. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper batsmen and captains and one of the greatest O ...

off a free hit delivery and the ball rolled away to the boundary, giving India four byes. Another notable instance took place during the

2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the eighth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20. It was played in Australia from 16 October to 13 November 2022. In the final, England cricket team, England beat Pakist ...

match between India and Pakistan, in which

Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (born 5 November 1988) is an Indian Cricket, international cricketer who plays One Day International, ODI cricket for the India national cricket team, national team and is a former Captain (cricket), captain in all formats. He is a ...

ran three byes after being bowled by Mohammad Nawaz off a free hit delivery.

Fielding restrictions

The fielding team is not allowed to change the field for the free hit ball, if the same batter (who received the original no-ball) is on strike. However, for safety reasons, if the

wicketkeeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a catch, stump the batsman out, or run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-ke ...

is standing up at the stumps they are allowed to move back to a more traditional position. If the batters ran an odd number of runs on the original no-ball, the other batter is now the striker, and the field may be re-positioned for the free hit. In fact re-positioning is also allowed if the striker changes for whatever reason, for example if a new batter replaces a striker who is

on the original no-ball, by failing to make his ground on the second run. The field must also be re-positioned if the no-ball was called for an illegal field placement.

Signal

The umpire at the bowler's end signals that the next ball is a free hit by making circular movements in the air with one raised hand. The free hit is carried over to the next ball if the original free hit ball is bowled wide or a no-ball; in this case the umpire is required to signal the free hit again.

References

{{Reflist Cricket terminology