Playing On: When a Batsman Hits the Ball onto Their Own Stumps
A 'played on' dismissal occurs when a batsman hits the ball (usually an inside edge or a bottom edge) and it deflects onto the stumps, dislodging a bail. This article covers why playing on happens, which batsmen are most prone to it, how it appears in the scorebook, and the specific bowling approaches that make it more likely.
How Playing On Occurs
A batsman is out 'bowled' if the ball strikes the wicket and dislodges a bail — and this includes cases where the ball deflects off the bat or gloves before hitting the stumps. 'Playing on' describes the specific case where the ball hits the bat (usually a thick inside edge or a bottom edge from a defensive shot) and deflects directly onto the stumps behind the batsman. The batsman who plays on was trying to hit or defend the ball but instead redirected it onto their own wicket. It is officially recorded in the scorecard simply as 'b [bowler name]' — there is no separate 'played on' designation in standard cricket scoring, though commentators use the term to describe the manner of the bowled dismissal.
Which Deliveries Cause Playing On
Playing on typically results from: balls that angle in sharply (deliveries from left-arm pace bowlers angling into right-handed batsmen that catch the inside edge when the batsman plays across the line); deliveries that seam back off the pitch after pitching on or outside off stump (the batsman plays for the line of the delivery but the seam deflects it back toward the stumps — their bat face is angled in the wrong direction for the redirected ball); slower balls or balls that stop on the pitch (the batsman times their shot for full pace but the ball arrives slower — the bat strikes it early and under-cuts it, deflecting it backward); and cut shots where the bat face closes too early (the batsman plays a cut but the face closes, angling the ball back toward the stumps rather than away). The common thread: the bat's angle and trajectory at contact redirects the ball toward the wicket rather than away from it.
Bowlers Who Use Playing On as a Wicket-Taking Method
Reverse swing specialists are particularly associated with playing-on dismissals — a ball swinging late and sharply in to a right-handed batsman produces the exact trajectory that causes inside edges back onto the stumps. Jimmy Anderson's career wicket records show a significant percentage of 'b [Anderson]' dismissals in Test cricket that were playing-on type: the ball angling in and catching the inside edge through the gate between bat and pad and onto the stumps. Leg-spin bowlers also produce playing-on dismissals against right-handed batsmen attempting to hit with the spin — the turning ball catches the bottom edge and is redirected back. Captains who position covers and mid-off for the 'going the wrong way' edge (the ball that plays on rather than edges to slip) are thinking about the playing-on dismissal probability.
Frequently asked questions
Is playing on considered the batsman's fault or a good ball?
Playing on can result from either a good ball or a technical error by the batsman. A delivery that swings late and sharply enough to catch a top-quality batsman's inside edge is primarily a 'good ball' dismissal; a batsman who plays across the line and misses a straight delivery that rebounds off their pads onto the stumps reflects a technical error. The distinction is important for coaching analysis: a playing-on dismissal review asks whether the delivery was unplayable (in which case the batsman did well to play it at all) or whether the batsman's shot selection was poor (attempting an attacking shot against a good-length ball on the stumps). Most playing-on dismissals involve some element of both — a ball good enough to create a difficult shot, and a shot that didn't execute cleanly enough to avoid the edge.
Can a batsman be out playing on if the ball hits their helmet or body first?
A batsman is out bowled if the ball strikes the wicket and dislodges a bail — regardless of what the ball hit beforehand, as long as the ball was in play and the batsman hasn't handled the ball illegally. If the ball hits the batsman's body or helmet before hitting the bat and then the wicket, the batsman is still out bowled. The exception: if the ball strikes the batsman's helmet (worn on the head) and then hits the stumps, the batsman is out bowled. If the ball hit the batsman in a way that would normally be adjudged LBW (hitting the pad while in line) but instead deflects onto the stumps, the batsman is still out — bowled, not LBW. The LBW law only applies when the ball hits the batsman's body and doesn't then deflect onto the wicket.
How common are playing-on dismissals compared to other modes of dismissal?
Bowled dismissals (including playing on) account for approximately 15-20% of wickets in Test cricket and 18-22% in limited-overs cricket. Of those bowled dismissals, playing-on (inside edge or bottom edge onto the stumps) accounts for roughly a third — so overall, playing on represents about 5-7% of all dismissals. Caught dismissals are by far the most common mode in all formats (50-60% of wickets in most formats). LBW is the second most common (15-20%). Bowled (including played on) is third or fourth depending on format — it is relatively more common in T20 cricket than in Tests, where cautious front-foot play reduces the playing-on risk from in-ducking deliveries.