Wide Deliveries in Cricket: Rules, Formats, and Controversies
A wide is a delivery ruled too far from the batsman to hit — it costs the bowling team a run and an extra delivery. Wide rules differ between Test and limited-overs cricket, creating controversy when umpires apply different standards. This guide explains wide rules in full.
A wide delivery is a ball that passes so far to the off or leg side of the batsman — without pitching — that the umpire considers the batsman could not have hit it with a normal cricket shot. When a wide is called: one run is added to the batting team's total, the delivery does not count as one of the over's six legal balls (meaning the over continues with an extra delivery), and the ball is 'dead' once ruled a wide — the batting team cannot score off the delivery itself.
Umpire Judgement Standards
The wide law requires umpires to judge whether the ball was 'so wide of the wicket' that it was beyond the batsman's reach with a normal shot. In Tests, the standard is lenient — only deliveries well outside the batsman's reach are called wide, recognising that a tall batsman with long reach in a 5-day game should be expected to deal with more unusual deliveries. In ODIs and T20s, the standard is tighter: umpires apply a specific line guide (pre-positioned markers visible from the umpire's position) — deliveries passing outside this line are automatically called wide.
Wide Balls and Wides in DRS
Wide ball decisions cannot be reviewed via DRS — they are purely umpire judgement calls, not decisions with a definitive answer that technology can reveal. If an umpire calls a wide, the fielding team cannot challenge it. This creates occasional controversies, particularly in tight matches where a wide costs a run and a delivery in a final over. The batting team also cannot challenge a non-call of wide.
Strategic Use of the Wide Zone
In limited-overs cricket, bowling deliveries deliberately close to the wide line is a legitimate bowling strategy — the delivery is harder for the batsman to hit, but risks being called wide (adding a run and extra ball). Bowlers targeting the wide area invite the batsman to play a risky shot wide of the off stump. Against T20 batsmen who are likely to slog, bowling wide can also provoke a wide-of-off-stump slash that edges to the keeper or flies to third man for a mis-hit boundary.
Frequently asked questions
What is a wide in cricket?
A wide is a delivery ruled too far from the batsman to hit with a normal shot. When called: the batting team receives 1 run (wides extras), the delivery does not count as one of the over's six balls (requiring an extra ball to be bowled), and the ball is dead — no additional runs can be scored from the delivery itself.
Is the wide rule different in T20 vs Test cricket?
Yes — the wide standard is significantly stricter in T20 and ODI cricket than in Tests. In Tests, umpires apply a lenient standard, calling only clearly unreachable deliveries wide. In limited-overs cricket, umpires use pre-marked line guides — deliveries passing outside the guide are called wide automatically. A delivery that would not be wide in a Test may be called wide in a T20.
Can a wide be challenged with DRS?
No — wide ball decisions cannot be reviewed using DRS. Wide decisions are purely umpire judgement calls about whether the delivery was reachable with a normal shot. There is no technology that can definitively answer this question, so DRS does not apply to wide calls.