Wide
Also known as: wide ball, wide delivery
A wide is a delivery that passes outside the marked wide lines on the pitch — too far from the batter to be played normally — penalising the fielding team with one extra run and requiring the delivery to be re-bowled.
The umpire signals a wide by extending both arms horizontally when a delivery passes clearly outside the wide lines painted on the pitch (usually about a bat's-width either side of the stumps, though the T20 standard is tighter). The batting team receives one run, and the ball is bowled again. In Test cricket and first-class cricket, umpires allow a little more latitude for deliveries that are outside but still potentially playable. In T20 cricket, the standard is stricter — any ball passing outside the wide line above knee height is almost always a wide. Wides accumulate into "extras" in the scorebook. A deliberate wide — for instance, to prevent a score — can result in official sanctions. Consistent wide deliveries not only concede runs but waste the bowling side's limited overs.
Example
Attempting a slower ball, the bowler loses his line and the ball slides down the leg side wide of the line; the umpire signals wide, and an extra run is added to the total.
Why it matters
Wides are free runs that cost the bowling side both runs and deliveries. SwingVantage's cricket analysis (in development) will map delivery lines to the wide zone so bowlers can quantify and reduce their line-control issues.
Related terms
- No-BallA no-ball is an illegal delivery in cricket — most commonly when the bowler's front foot lands beyond the popping crease — resulting in one extra run and the delivery being re-bowled, and the batter cannot be dismissed (except run out).
- CreaseThe crease is any of the white painted lines on the cricket pitch that define legal bowling positions, the safe zone for batters, and the starting point for LBW and run-out adjudications.
- Good LengthA good-length delivery is one that pitches at the spot that forces the batter to be uncertain whether to play off the front foot or the back foot — the most dangerous line for any bowler.
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