Hit Wicket
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Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of
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 ...
. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the
Laws of Cricket The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code that specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744. Since 1788, the code has been owned and maintained by the private Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lord's Cr ...
. 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. 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. This method is the sixth most common method of dismissal after
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,
leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. 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 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 ...
, 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. , batsmen have been dismissed hit wicket a total of 164 times in
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
, 77 times in
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s and 35 in
Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
s. In the women's game, a player has been dismissed 12 times in this manner in
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
, 8 in women's ODIs, and 18 in women's Twenty20 International matches.


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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
at
the Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
, Ian Botham fell over his stumps whilst attempting to hook Curtly Ambrose and so was dismissed "hit wicket". Later in the day,
Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...
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 A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...
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.


Disintegrating bat

In the first innings of the 3rd Test in the 1921 Ashes series, at
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
, Andy Ducat, playing in his only Test for England, fended at a fast ball bowled by
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's
Ted McDonald Edgar Arthur "Ted" McDonald (6 January 1891 – 22 July 1937) was a cricketer who played for Tasmanian Tigers, Tasmania, Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire and Australia national cricket team, Australia ...
. 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". Later in 1921, in the 2nd Test between Australia and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
at Old Wanderers in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, 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". 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 Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
against
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
at
the Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
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".


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 Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in 1960–61 (the Test immediately after the famous Tied Test at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
), 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". 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. Two Indian cricketers have been dismissed in a similar fashion – Ashok Mankad by England's Chris Old during the 3rd Test at
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...
in July 1974, and Dilip Vengsarkar by Australia's Jeff Thomson during the 1st Test at Brisbane in December 1977. In the 3rd
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
between
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and Australia in
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
in February 2000, New Zealand's Adam Parore had his helmet knocked off by a short-pitched delivery from
Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. With his time representin ...
. The helmet fell into the stumps, and Parore was also out "hit wicket", causing some disturbance in the crowd. 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 Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
's
Inzamam-ul-Haq Syed Inzamam-ul-Haq Sitara-e-Imtiaz, SI (; born 3 March 1970), also known as Inzi, is a former Pakistan cricketer and captain of Pakistan national cricket team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players Pakistan has produced and one of the ...
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 The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, (; ) nicknamed The Lions, represents Sri Lanka in men's international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test cricket, Test, One-Day International (ODI) and T ...
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.


References

*Gerald Brodribb, ''Next Man In'', Chapter 35, Souvenir Press (1995) {{Methods of dismissal in cricket Cricket laws and regulations Cricket terminology