Hit the ball twice

Law 34.1 of the Laws of Cricket states:{{cite web |url=https://www.lords.org/mcc/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-34-hit-the-ball-twice/ |title=Law 34 – Hit the ball twice |publisher=MCC |access-date=29 September 2017}}

34.1 Out Hit the ball twice

34.1.1 The striker is out Hit the ball twice if, while the ball is in play, it strikes any part of his/her person or is struck by his/her bat and, before the ball has been touched by a fielder, the striker wilfully strikes it again with his/her bat or person, other than a hand not holding the bat, except for the sole purpose of guarding his/her wicket.

34.1.2 For the purpose of this Law ‘struck’ or ‘strike’ shall include contact with the person of the striker.

In fairness to the fielding side, a second or further strike allows the batter to protect their wicket and nothing further.

The only runs that are ultimately allowed after hitting the ball twice are the No ball penalty if applicable, and any five penalty runs that apply (except that if the ball hits a helmet of the fielding side on the ground under Law 28.3 no penalty applies).

If a batter hits the ball twice or more 'For the sole purpose of guarding his/her wicket' the batters may venture a run, but it will be disallowed and the ball called 'dead' by the umpires. The wilful act of running does not itself render the batter liable to dismissal (only the wilful act of striking the ball, if that includes any motivation to score from the strike), but it makes the batters liable to be out from their actions in other ways. Hence the umpires will wait for a catch to be taken, if that pertains, before adjudging 'dead ball' and returning the batters to their original ends.

The ball can be caught as long as it does not touch the ground from the moment of the first strike by the bat until it is held by the fielder, and will be recorded as 'Out caught,' which takes precedence over 'Hit the Ball Twice,' and is credited to the bowler and the catcher. 'Obstructing the field' (Law 37.3 Obstructing a ball from being caught) is not so credited, but also takes precedence as the recorded means of dismissal.

If the ball is a No Ball the striker can still be out or not out Hit the Ball Twice under all the same considerations. They are not expected to take into account the call or fact of No Ball in acting to guard their wicket.

A batter who touches the ball a second time to return it to a fielder is explicitly not out under this Law (34.2.1), but could be out Obstructing the Field under Law 37.4, whilst one who touches the ball after it has been touched by a fielder is explicitly not out under this Law (34.2.2), but could be out under 37.1.

Cricket is often considered to be a rather gentle pastime but it has a history of extreme violence. In the early days before the modern rules had universal effect batsmen could go to almost any lengths to avoid being out. They could obstruct the fielders and they could hit the ball as many times as necessary to preserve their wicket. This had fatal consequences on more than one occasion and strict rules were gradually introduced to prevent the batsman from physically attacking the fielders, to keep them at their crease, and only allowing one attempt to hit the ball even if they missed it with the bat the first time.

In 1622, several parishioners of Boxgrove, near Chichester in West Sussex, were prosecuted for playing cricket in a churchyard on Sunday 5 May. There were three reasons for the prosecution: one was that it contravened a local by-law; another reflected concern about church windows which may or may not have been broken; the third was that "a little childe had like to have her braines beaten out with a cricket batt".Timothy J McCann, Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century, Sussex Record Society, 2004

The latter situation was because the rules at the time allowed the batsman to hit the ball more than once and so fielding near the batsman was very hazardous, as two later incidents confirm.

In 1624, a fatality occurred at Horsted Keynes in East Sussex when a fielder called Jasper Vinall was struck on the head by the batsman, Edward Tye, who was trying to hit the ball a second time to avoid being caught. Vinall is thus the earliest known cricketing fatality. The matter was recorded in a coroner's court, which returned a verdict of misadventure.

In 1647, another fatality was recorded at Selsey, West Sussex, when a fielder called Henry Brand was hit on the head by a batsman trying to hit the ball a second time.

It is not known when the rules were changed to outlaw striking for the ball a second time or when the offence of obstructing the field was introduced, but both those rules were clearly stated in the 1744 codification of the Laws of Cricket, which were drawn up by the London Cricket Club and are believed to be based on a much earlier code that has been lost.

The first definite record of a batsman being dismissed for hitting the ball twice occurred in the Hampshire v Kent match at Windmill Down on 13–15 July 1786. Tom Sueter of Hampshire, who had scored 3, was the player in question, as recorded in Scores and Biographies.Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826), Lillywhite, 1862

This method of dismissal is the second rarest after timed out, recorded on 23 occasions in first-class cricket and twice in List A cricket.{{cite web |title=First-Class Dismissed Hit the Ball Twice |url=https://stats.acscricket.com/Records/First_Class/Overall/Batting/Out_Hit_the_Ball_Twice.html |website=ACS Cricket |access-date=30 November 2023}}{{cite web |title=List A Unusual Dismissals |url=https://stats.acscricket.com/Records/List_A/Overall/Batting/Unusual_dismissals.html |website=ACS Cricket |access-date=30 November 2023}}

The last incident of the dismissal in English cricket occurred in 1906 when John King, playing for Leicestershire against Surrey at The Oval tried to score a run after playing the ball twice to avoid getting bowled. Had he not tried to score a run, he would not have been out.Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – 1907 issue{{cite news |title=Cricket |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS218559148/TTDA?u=mclib&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=9362319c |access-date=30 November 2023 |work=The Times |publisher=Times Digitial Archive |date=12 May 1906 |pages=13}}

Kurt Wilkinson was dismissed in this manner when playing for Barbados against Rest of Leeward Islands in the 2002–03 Red Stripe Bowl. The dismissal was controversial as there was doubt as to whether Wilkinson had "wilfully" struck the ball twice as required under the relevant law of cricket.{{Cite web |title=Wilkinson's `double-edged' sword causes debate |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/wilkinson-s-double-edged-sword-causes-debate-112228 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=ESPNcricinfo |language=en}}

The only occurrence of this dismissal in international cricket was when Malta's Fanyan Mughal got out against Romania in the 2023 Men's Continental Cup on 20 August 2023.{{cite web |title=Malta vs. Romania scorecard |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/continental-cup-2023-1391323/romania-vs-malta-qualifier-1391336/full-scorecard |publisher=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=23 August 2023}} Mughal missed a pull shot, causing the ball to hit him and land nearby on the ground. He then knocked the ball away with his bat — moving it away from the wicket-keeper, who was running in to collect the ball in order to attempt a run-out of the non-striker who was well out of his crease. Because of this, Romania appealed and Mughal was given out by the umpires.

• List of unusual dismissals in international cricket

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170829203450/https://www.lords.org/mcc/laws-of-cricket/ The official laws of cricket]

{{Methods of dismissal in cricket}}

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Category:Cricket laws and regulations

Category:Cricket terminology