Extras, penalty runs, the follow-on and how a match is decided.

No balls

A No ball carries a one-run penalty, awarded at once, scored as a No ball extra and charged to the bowler (Laws 21.14 and 21.15). The penalty stands even if a batter is then dismissed, unless the call is revoked. A No ball does not count as one of the six balls of the over (Law 21.16), and a call of No ball overrides a call of Wide (Law 21.12). Two changes in the 3rd Edition (2022) affected No balls:

• Law 21.4 (2022): a bowler who throws at the striker's wicket before entering the delivery stride now causes a Dead ball rather than a No ball.
• Law 25.8 (2022): the striker may play the ball only while some part of their bat or body remains on the pitch, and a delivery that would force them off it is a No ball.

Wides

Under Law 22.1.1 (2026), the umpire calls Wide if the ball passes wide of where the striker is standing, or has stood at any point since the ball came into play, and would also have passed wide of a striker in a normal batting position. A Wide carries a one-run penalty, and every run from it, the penalty included, is scored as Wides and charged to the bowler, apart from any 5 penalty runs (Laws 22.6 and 22.7).

The Wide has changed in each recent edition and differs between the Laws and international playing conditions:

• 2022 edition, Law 22.1: a Wide was judged by where the striker had stood at any point since the bowler began the run-up.
• 2026 edition, Law 22.1.3: a bouncer passing over head height is now a Wide in Law, not a No ball. The MCC says this matches almost all professional cricket.
• ICC women's ODI playing conditions (effective July 2026), clause 22.1.1: a Wide is judged by where the striker is standing at the point of delivery, and a ball above the head height of the upright striker is a Wide.
• ICC trial from October 2025: the ICC announced on 27 June 2025 a six-month trial in ODIs and T20Is under which the batter's leg position at the moment of delivery is the reference for a Wide, even if the batter then moves to the off side, with the protected-area marker line extended to the popping crease as a guide. One press report (Outlook India, 1 October 2026) says the trial became permanent in ODIs and T20Is from 1 October 2026; that is a single press source and is unconfirmed.

Byes and leg byes

Byes are runs from a delivery, other than a Wide, that passes the striker without touching bat or body (Law 23.1). Leg byes are runs scored after the ball first hits the striker's body; they are allowed only if the umpire is satisfied the striker tried to play the ball with the bat or tried to avoid being hit (Law 23.2).

Penalty runs

The Laws award 5 penalty runs to either side for specified offences, signalled by the umpire under Law 2.13. Examples and recent changes:

• Short running. Deliberate short running is penalised under Law 18.5.2. In 2026 the MCC rewrote Laws 18.5.1 and 18.5.2: batters may turn back and abandon a run without penalty even if they have crossed, deliberate short running must be an attempt to deceive, and the fielding side now also chooses who takes strike. The MCC says the ICC had already adopted this; the ICC announced it on 27 June 2025.
• Unfair movement by the fielding side. Since 2022 (Laws 27.4 and 28.6), this earns the batting side 5 penalty runs, not just a Dead ball.
• Offences by both sides on one ball. New in 2026, Law 2.13.2.2 punishes both where both sides commit offences on the same delivery that call for opposite actions; where the actions conflict, the earlier offence governs.
• After the result. Law 41.17.2 (2026) lets penalty runs be awarded until the umpires leave the field at the end of the match, even after a result; if they undo the result, play continues.

Penalty runs for slow play in international cricket

• From 1 June 2024 (ICC, 15 March 2024), the stop clock became mandatory in all Full Member men's ODIs and T20Is: the fielding side must start the next over within 60 seconds, with two warnings and then five runs for each further breach.
• From 17 June 2025 (ICC, 27 June 2025), the stop clock applies in Tests: 60 seconds between overs, two warnings, then 5 penalty runs for the third and every later breach in an innings, with the warnings reset after each 80 overs.
• From 1 October 2026, according to press reports of the ICC's new conditions, a batter wasting time gets a warning, then a final warning, then 5 penalty runs to the fielding side for the third and each later offence. The reports disagree on whether the count resets: Ratopati says it runs within each block of 80 overs, while Outlook India does not mention a reset. Our research did not check this against an ICC document.

The follow-on

In a two-innings match, the side batting first may make the other side bat again straight away if it leads by enough runs. The minimum lead depends on the scheduled length (Law 14.1):

If no play takes place on the first day, the margin follows the number of days left, with the first day on which play happens counted as a whole day (Law 14.3).

Declarations and forfeits

The batting captain may declare an innings closed at any time the ball is dead, and a declared innings counts as completed (Law 15.1). A captain may forfeit either of their side's innings before it starts (Law 15.2). New in 2026, neither may be done in the final innings of the match; the MCC says declaring or forfeiting the final innings was only ever used to contrive results.

How a match is decided

• Win. In a two-innings match, the side whose runs exceed the total of the opponents' two completed innings wins (Law 16.1); Law 16.2 applies the same test to one-innings matches. A side batting last that wins is said to win by the number of wickets still to fall; a side fielding last that wins, by runs (Law 16.7).
• Other wins. Law 16.7 also names a win by Penalty runs, Match Conceded and Match Awarded. A side that concedes, or that the umpires judge to be refusing to play, loses the match (Law 16.3).
• Tie and Draw. A Tie is when all innings are complete and the scores are level; a Draw is any match not decided in the other ways listed (Law 16.5).
• Limited-overs or time-limited matches. Any result not reached under Laws 16.1 to 16.3 is decided as the pre-match agreement lays down (Law 16.4).
• Final. Once umpires and scorers agree the scores at the end of the match, the result cannot be changed (Law 16.10).

Playing conditions add their own rules. The ICC's women's ODI playing conditions (effective July 2026) require the side batting second to have faced at least 20 overs for a match to count; if both sides have not had the chance to bat 20 overs, the result is No Result unless the match is awarded. Tied ODIs in that competition go to a Super Over, one six-ball over per side, won by the side scoring more runs regardless of wickets, with more Super Overs if needed. Rain-affected targets are on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern page.