Hit Wicket in Cricket — What It Is and When It Happens

Hit wicket is one of cricket's rarest and most unusual dismissals — a batter accidentally breaking their own wicket with their bat or body while playing a shot or setting off for a run. It costs the batter their wicket even though the bowler didn't beat them and no fielder caught the ball.

The Law of Hit Wicket

Under Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket, a batter is out hit wicket if they dislodge a bail (the small pieces of wood that sit on top of the stumps) with their bat, body, or equipment WHILE playing the stroke or WHILE setting off for a run on the first run after the stroke. The key condition is the timing: it must happen during the shot or the first run immediately after — not at any other point in play.

How It Happens in Practice

Hit wicket usually occurs in two scenarios. First, a batter loses their footing while playing a big shot — they step back or sideways and disturb their own stumps. Second, a batter's bat follows through on a drive and clips the top of the stumps on the downswing. It can also happen when a batter is struck by a delivery and stumbles backward into the wicket.

How Rare Is It?

Hit wicket is among the rarest forms of dismissal in cricket. In Test cricket, it occurs roughly once every 2,000–3,000 deliveries across all play. International cricketers may go entire careers without being dismissed hit wicket. The most common dismissal types (caught, bowled, LBW, run out) each occur hundreds of times more frequently.

Notable Hit Wicket Dismissals

Some of the most memorable hit wicket dismissals happened during crucial moments. Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed hit wicket twice in Test cricket — always to groans from his fans. In T20 cricket, big-hitting batters occasionally dislodge their stumps while attempting to swing over mid-wicket, stepping back into their stumps during the follow-through.

Credited to the Bowler

Hit wicket is credited as a wicket to the bowler — appearing in the scorecard as 'hit wicket b [bowler name]'. This is because it occurred on their delivery, even though the bowler didn't directly dislodge the stumps. The bowler's bowling average, wicket tally, and economy rate all improve on a hit wicket dismissal exactly as they would for a bowled dismissal.

Is Hit Wicket Ever Not Out?

Yes — there are several situations where disturbing the stumps while playing is not hit wicket. If the ball is dead before the bat contacts the stumps (e.g., umpire has called dead ball), the batter cannot be given out. If the wicket was already down before the batter struck it (e.g., the ball had already dislodged a bail earlier in the delivery), it's also not out. The umpire must confirm all stump hardware was intact at the moment of contact.