Byes and Leg Byes in Cricket Explained
Byes and leg byes are extras scored by the batting team without hitting the ball to the boundary. This guide explains the difference, when each is awarded, and how they appear in the scorebook.
What Are Extras in Cricket?
Extras are runs scored by the batting side without the bat touching the ball — they are additional runs added to the team's total but attributed to the extras column rather than to any individual batter. The four categories of extras are: wides, no balls, byes, and leg byes. Each has distinct rules governing when they are awarded and how they are scored.
What Is a Bye?
A bye is scored when a legal delivery beats both the bat and the body of the batter, and also beats the wicketkeeper — allowing the batters to run. The ball must not have touched the bat or the batter's body for it to be a bye. If the ball beats the keeper and rolls to the boundary, the batting team receives four byes. The umpire signals byes by raising one hand open above the head.
What Is a Leg Bye?
A leg bye is scored when the ball strikes the batter's body (but not the bat) and the batters take runs — the deflection came off the pads, body, or protective equipment rather than the bat. A leg bye can only be awarded if the batter was attempting to play a stroke or legitimately avoiding the ball. If the batter deliberately does neither, the umpire cancels the leg bye runs as dead ball.
Byes and Leg Byes in the Scorebook
In a cricket scorecard, extras appear as a separate line. A team's total is broken down as runs (from bat) plus extras (wides, no balls, byes, leg byes). A team might score 250 all out — of which 20 runs are extras. Extras are not attributed to any batter or bowler's analysis. They represent collective fielding and keeping errors (byes) or bowling errors (wides and no balls).
Are Byes Counted Against the Bowler?
Byes are not counted in the bowler's figures — they are the wicketkeeper's responsibility. If the keeper lets three byes through, those three runs do not appear in the bowler's economy or average analysis. No balls and wides, however, are counted against the bowler — they appear in the bowler's runs column and affect their economy rate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bye and a leg bye?
A bye is when the ball misses both the bat and the batter's body completely, then beats the keeper — the batters run without any contact. A leg bye is when the ball deflects off the batter's body (but not the bat) and the batters run.
Do byes count against the bowler's figures?
No. Byes are the wicketkeeper's responsibility and are not counted in the bowler's economy or average. Wides and no balls, however, do count against the bowler.
What are the four types of cricket extras?
The four types of extras in cricket are: wides (delivery too far from the batter), no balls (illegal delivery), byes (ball beats bat, body, and keeper), and leg byes (ball deflects off the batter's body and batters run).