There are ten ways in which a batsman can be dismissed and some are so unusual that only a few instances of them exist in the whole history of the game. The most common forms of dismissal are “bowled”, “caught”, “leg before wicket” (lbw), “run out”, “stumped” and “hit wicket”. The unusual methods are “hit the ball twice”, “obstructed the field”, “handled the ball” and “timed out”.

Before the umpire will award a dismissal and declare the batsman to be out, a member of the fielding side (generally the bowler) must “appeal”. This is invariably done by asking (or shouting) the term “Owzat?” which means, simply enough, “How is that?” If the umpire agrees with the appeal, he will raise a forefinger and say “Out!”. Otherwise he will shake his head and say “Not out”. Appeals are particularly loud when the circumstances of the claimed dismissal are unclear, as is always the case with lbw and often with run outs and stumpings.

1. Bowled – the bowler has hit the wicket with the ball and the wicket has “broken” with at least one bail being dislodged (note that if the ball hits the wicket without dislodging a bail it is not out) [13]?
2. Caught – the batsman has hit the ball with his bat or with his hand and the ball has been caught on the full by a member of the fielding side?
3. Leg before wicket (lbw) – is complex but basically means that the batsman would have been bowled if the ball had not hit his leg first?
4. Run out – a member of the fielding side has broken or “put down” the wicket with the ball while a batsman was out of his ground; this usually occurs by means of an accurate throw to the wicket while the batsmen are attempting a run?
5. Stumped – is similar except that it is done by the wicketkeeper after the batsman has missed the bowled ball and has stepped out of his ground; the keeper must break the wicket with the ball in his hand for a stumping (if the keeper throws the ball at the wicket, it is a run out)?
6. Hit wicket – a batsman is out Hit Wicket, if he dislodges one or both bails with his bat, person, clothing or equipment in the act of hitting the ball, or when setting off for a run?
7. Hit the ball twice – is very unusual and was introduced as a safety measure to counter dangerous play and protect the fielders. The batsman may legally play the ball a second time only to stop the ball hitting the wicket after he has already played it?
8. Obstructed the field – another unusual dismissal which tends to involve a batsman deliberately getting in the way of a fielder?
9. Handled the ball – a batsman must not deliberately use his hand to protect his wicket (note that the bowled ball often hits the batsman’s hand but this is not intentional by the batsman and so is not out; though he can of course be caught off his hand)?
10. Timed out – usually means that the next batsman did not arrive at the wicket within two minutes of the previous one being dismissed?

In the vast majority of cases, it is the striker who is out when a dismissal occurs. If the non-striker is dismissed it is usually by being run out, but he could also be dismissed for obstructing the field, handling the ball or being timed out.

A batsman may leave the field without being dismissed. If injured or taken ill the batsman may temporarily retire, and be replaced by the next batsman. This is recorded as retired hurt or retired ill. The retiring batsman is not out, and may resume the innings later. An unimpaired batsman may retire, and this is treated as being dismissed retired out; no player is credited with the dismissal. Batsmen cannot be out bowled, caught, leg before wicket, stumped or hit wicket off a no ball. They cannot be out bowled, caught, leg before wicket, or hit the ball twice off a wide. Some of these modes of dismissal can occur without the bowler bowling a delivery. The batsman who is not on strike may be run out by the bowler if he leaves his crease before the bowler bowls, and a batsman can be out obstructing the field or retired out at any time. Timed out is, by its nature, a dismissal without a delivery. With all other modes of dismissal, only one batsman can be dismissed per ball bowled.