Wide
Also known as: wide ball, wide delivery
A wide is a delivery that passes outside the marked wide lines on the pitch. This means too far from the batter to be played normally. This means 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.
Practise bowling within markers placed inside the wide lines during nets. This means training within the corridor and succeeding in nets means you have a margin of safety before reaching the wide zone in matches.
Use the wide line deliberately by bowling a legitimate delivery just inside the off-side wide crease against a batter who does not chase wide balls. This means the batter must play or risk LBW if the ball swings back. This forces a shot outside the comfort zone.
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. 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.
How it shows up on video
A wide delivery is identifiable on video as the ball passing outside the marked wide crease on the off side or leg side. This means depending on the format. Without the batter attempting to play the ball. In limited-overs cricket, the wide line is closer to the stumps. As a result, more deliveries are called wide. In Test cricket, the zone is wider and only very clearly outside deliveries are called.
Common mistakes
- Bowlers aiming to go very wide of off stump for a seam-up surprise and reliably drifting into the wide zone
- Batters not moving across to attempt to play wide deliveries, which would remove the wide call even if the ball passes outside the line
- Fielding sides not factoring wides into their run-rate calculations during the death overs when wides become very costly
- Bowlers bowling at the body of a right-handed batter from a wide wide-crease position and conceding wides to the leg side
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
SwingVantage cricket analysis (currently in development) will plot ball-crossing position at the batting crease relative to the wide lines for each delivery to help bowlers visualise their propensity for wide deliveries across different match phases.
Related terms
- No-BallA no-ball is an illegal delivery in cricket. This means most commonly when the bowler's front foot lands beyond the popping crease. This means resulting in one extra run and the delivery being re-bowled. 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. 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. This means the most dangerous line for any bowler.
Put this into your swing
SwingVantage can spot this in your own swing — free to start.