Know About Wide Ball In Cricket

A cricket ball is wide when the umpire feels it was pitched well outside the reach of a batter or far away from any ordinary cricket stroke. So when the umpire declares the delivery wide, then an additional run will be granted to the batting side whereas the delivery shall again be delivered since the concerned ball will not become a constituent part of six balls in one over. A wide is indicated to the fielders by raising both hands parallel to each other.

Shouting for a Wide Ball:

A ball is wide if it passes outside a batter's reach when he is in his normal batting position. It is not wide, however, if the batter moves and crosses over a spot he could have reached it, or if the ball touches the batter or his bat.

Exceptions

A ball is not wide if:

The movement of the batter takes it out of his reach.
It crosses within reach because of the movement of the batter.
It meets the bat or body of the batter.

Game Consequence:

For each wide ball, the batting side earns one run and it does not form a legal delivery, the bowler has to bowl another ball. In case of the ball going outside the boundary, the batting side earns four extra runs along with the five runs they make for that specific delivery. All the runs for a wide are counted as extras and added to the bowler's tally.

Dismissal of a Wide Ball:

Even in the wide, dismissals can take place through:

Stumping
Run out
Hit wicket
Obstructing the field

Knowledge of the wide ball ensures that the play is fair bowlers are not allowed to bowl unplayable balls as well as bat and ball fight is well-balanced.