A wide is a delivery that passes so far from the batter, standing in a normal position, that they cannot reach it with a normal cricket shot. Under Law 22 of the Laws of Cricket, the umpire signals a wide, one run is added to the batting side as an extra, and the ball must be bowled again. In short, a wide punishes a bowler for straying too far from a hittable line.
What counts as a wide?
The umpire judges a wide on two questions. First, did the ball pass wide of where the striker was actually standing at the moment it was delivered? Second, would it also have passed wide of the striker standing in a normal batting position? If the answer to both is yes, and the ball was not close enough to be hit with a normal stroke, it is a wide. If the ball is within reach of an ordinary shot, it is not a wide, even if the batter chooses to leave it.
The batter’s movement matters. If a batter shuffles well across the stumps and leaves a gap down the leg side, a ball sliding down that side can still be called a wide. Equally, if a batter backs away toward the leg side and the bowler follows them, a ball that would otherwise be wide down the off side may be judged fair because it was within reach where the batter had moved.
How is a wide penalized?
The penalty is immediate: one run, called a wide, is added to the batting side’s total the instant the umpire signals. That run is an extra and is not credited to any batter, but it is charged to the bowler’s figures as a run conceded. Crucially, a wide is not counted as one of the six legal balls in the over, so the bowler has to bowl the delivery again. A wide therefore costs the bowling side twice, once in runs and once in an extra ball. If the batters run additional runs, or the ball goes to the boundary as an overthrow or a bye, those runs are added on top and also recorded as wides.
Are wides stricter in limited-overs cricket?
Yes. The interpretation of a wide changes with the format, as the table shows.
| Format | How wides are judged |
|---|---|
| Test cricket | Judged mainly on the leg side and by whether the ball was within reach of a normal stroke; the off side is given more latitude. |
| Limited-overs (ODI and T20) | Marked wide guidelines on the popping crease apply on the off side, and leg-side deliveries are called strictly to discourage negative bowling. |
In one-day and T20 cricket, the marked tramlines give umpires a clearer reference on the off side, and any ball drifting down the leg side past the batter is usually called. The stricter standard exists because limited-overs cricket rewards tight, boundary-limiting bowling, and umpires do not want bowlers to escape pressure by simply firing the ball out of reach.
The strict leg-side interpretation matters most in T20 cricket. As batters increasingly shuffle across their stumps to scoop and ramp, bowlers may try to follow them down the leg side to cramp the shot. Umpires counter this by calling those deliveries wide, keeping the contest fair and stopping bowlers from bowling deliberately unhittable lines to save runs. The same logic explains why a ball passing between the batter and the leg stump, with the batter in a normal position, is usually called a wide.
Can you be out off a wide?
A wide is still a live ball, so some dismissals are possible. A batter can be run out, stumped, hit wicket, or given out for obstructing the field off a wide. Because the ball by definition passed out of normal playing reach, a batter cannot be out bowled, caught, or leg before wicket off a wide. A stumping off a wide is a common sight when a batter charges down the pitch, misses, and the wicketkeeper collects the wide delivery and breaks the stumps.
Common misconceptions about wides
One misconception is that any ball outside off stump is automatically a wide. In Test cricket, umpires allow a fair amount of room on the off side, so many deliveries a fan might expect to be called are considered fair. Another is that the batter’s position never matters; in fact, a batter who moves across the crease can turn a legal-looking ball into a wide, or a wide-looking ball into a legal one. A final myth is that wides are free of consequence for the batting side, when in reality a batter can still be dismissed while the ball is in play.
Bottom line
A wide is a delivery too far from the batter, in a normal stance, to be hit with a normal shot. It adds one run to the batting side, must be re-bowled, and is judged more strictly in limited-overs cricket than in Tests. Batters can be run out or stumped off a wide but not bowled, caught, or lbw, making it a penalty aimed squarely at wayward bowling.
Frequently asked questions
How many runs is a wide worth?
A wide adds one run to the batting side’s total as an extra, signaled the moment the umpire calls it. Any additional runs the batters take, or runs from overthrows, are added on top and also counted as wides in the extras column.
Does a wide count as a ball in the over?
No. A wide is not one of the six legal deliveries in an over, so the bowler must bowl it again. This means a wide costs the bowling side both a run and an extra ball.
Are wides stricter in one-day and T20 cricket?
Yes. Limited-overs cricket applies marked wide guidelines on the off side and calls leg-side deliveries strictly. Test cricket gives bowlers more latitude, judging a wide mainly on whether the ball was within reach of a normal stroke.
Can you be out off a wide ball?
Yes, but only in certain ways. A batter can be stumped, run out, hit wicket, or given out for obstructing the field off a wide. They cannot be out bowled, caught, or lbw, because by definition the ball passed out of normal playing reach.
Is a wide charged to the bowler?
Yes. Runs from wides are added to the runs the bowler has conceded in their figures. However, wides are recorded as team extras and are not credited to any batter.