Cricket Rules – Law 29 – Batsman Out Of His Ground
1. When out of his ground
(a) A batsman shall be considered to be out of his ground unless his bat or some part of his person is grounded behind the popping crease at that end.(b) Notwithstanding (a) above, if a running batsman, having grounded some part of his foot behind the popping crease, continues running further towards the wicket at that end and beyond, then any subsequent total loss of contact with the ground of both his person and his bat during his continuing forward momentum shall not be interpreted as being out of his ground.
2. Which is a batsman’s ground
(a) If only one batsman is within a ground(i) it is his ground(ii) it remains his ground even if he is later joined there by the other batsman.(b) If both batsmen are in the same ground and one of them subsequently leaves it, (a)(i) above applies.(c) If there is no batsman in either ground, then each ground belongs to whichever batsman is nearer to it, or, if the batsmen are level, to whichever batsman was nearer to it immediately prior to their drawing level.(d) If a ground belongs to one batsman then, unless there is a striker who has a runner, the other ground belongs to the other batsman, irrespective of his position.(e) When a batsman who has a runner is striker, his ground is always at the wicket-keeper’s end. However, (a), (b), (c) and (d) above will still apply, but only to the runner and the non-striker, so that that ground will also belong to either the non-striker or the runner, as the case may be.
3. Position of non-striker
The non-striker, when standing at the bowler’s end, should be positioned on the opposite side of the wicket to that from which the ball is being delivered, unless a request to do otherwise is granted by the umpire.
© Marylebone Cricket Club 2010
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