No-Balls and Free Hits: How to Score Them Correctly

The basic no-ball entry

Law 21 covers no-balls. The most common reasons are the bowler's front foot landing with no part behind the popping crease, a full toss above waist height, a throw instead of a bowl, or too many fielders in certain areas. Whatever the reason, the scoring is identical. The batting side gets one penalty run, recorded as a no-ball extra, and the delivery does not count as one of the six balls in the over.

Unlike a wide, a no-ball does count as a ball faced by the batter. That matters for strike rates. If a batter on 20 off 14 blocks a no-ball back to the bowler, she is now on 20 off 15, while the over count does not move. The bowler is charged with the penalty run.

The signal is one arm held out horizontally. In club cricket the umpire will often call "no ball" loudly as the ball is bowled so the batter knows the dismissal rules have changed. Record it once the ball is dead, not when you first hear the call.

Who gets the runs: bat, bye or leg-bye

Here is where scorers go wrong most often. If the batter hits a no-ball with the bat, every run scored from that shot, including a boundary, is credited to the batter, and the penalty run is added on top as a no-ball extra. A no-ball hit for six is 7 to the total: 6 to the batter, 1 no-ball. Both the 6 and the 1 are charged to the bowler, because runs off the bat always are.

If the ball is not hit by the bat, the runs the batters take are not byes or leg-byes. Under the current Laws they are scored as additional no-ball extras. So a no-ball that beats the keeper and runs away for four is 5 no-ball extras. Older scorebooks and some apps show these as 1 no-ball plus 4 byes, which was the convention under earlier codes. Since the 2017 Code, all of it goes in the no-ball column, and all of it is debited to the bowler.

The quick rule is: off the bat goes to the batter, anything else goes to no-balls.

Which dismissals are possible off a no-ball

Once a no-ball is called, most ways of getting out disappear. The batter cannot be bowled, caught, lbw, stumped or out hit wicket. The dismissals that remain are run out, obstructing the field, which now includes what used to be called handled the ball, and hit the ball twice.

In practice the one you will see is run out. If the batters are running off a no-ball and one is run out, the penalty run still stands, plus any runs completed before the wicket. The run in progress does not count. So a no-ball where the batters complete one and are run out going for the second is 1 run to the batter if it was hit, plus 1 no-ball, plus a wicket.

• Out off a no-ball: run out, obstructing the field, hit the ball twice.
• Not out off a no-ball: bowled, caught, lbw, stumped, hit wicket.
• A run out off a no-ball is never credited to the bowler.

How free hits work

A free hit is not in the Laws of Cricket. It is a playing condition used in most limited-overs competitions, including ICC one-day and T20 cricket. After a no-ball, the next delivery is a free hit. On that ball, the batter can only be dismissed in the same ways as off a no-ball: run out, obstructing the field or hit the ball twice.

The free-hit ball is otherwise an ordinary delivery. If it is a fair ball it counts in the over, and runs scored off it go to the batter normally. If the free-hit ball is itself a wide or a no-ball, the free hit carries over to the next delivery. Fielders generally cannot change position for a free hit unless the striker has changed.

One quirk: if the batter misses a free hit and it bowls him, the ball is not dead. The batters can run byes, and some do, because they cannot be bowled. The runs are byes, recorded in the normal way, because the free hit itself was a legal delivery.

Common local variations

Local cricket changes no-ball rules more than almost anything else. These are common local variations rather than Laws, so agree them before the toss and make sure both captains know them.

If your group uses a no-ball penalty of two runs, or no free hits, set that up the same way every time so season stats stay comparable.

• Free hits only after front-foot no-balls, not after high full tosses.
• No free hits at all in timed or declaration matches.
• A full toss above the waist called a no-ball only if it is fast, with slow full tosses allowed.
• In gully cricket, no penalty run for a no-ball, just a re-bowl.
• A two-run penalty for every no-ball in some tennis-ball tournaments, to punish overstepping on short run-ups.

Scoring no-balls on your phone without mistakes

The pressure moment is a no-ball hit for four in a tight chase. Everyone is shouting, and the scorer needs to enter one event with two parts. On Cricket Score Counter, tap the no-ball button and add the runs off the bat to it, so the batter gets the four and the extras column gets the one. If you tap the wrong combination, use undo immediately rather than patching it later.

The second check is the free hit. After every no-ball, tell the umpire and the batting side "free hit" if your format uses them. Phone scorers are often the first to notice that the umpire forgot.

1. Wait for the umpire's no-ball signal and for the ball to be dead.
2. Ask yourself: did the ball come off the bat?
3. If yes, record the no-ball with the runs to the batter.
4. If no, record all the runs as no-ball extras.
5. Confirm the ball count did not move and call the free hit if required.