Four (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a four is the scoring of 4 runs with a single hit of the cricket ball by the batsman.
Usually, 4 runs are scored by hitting the ball to the boundary of the cricket field. As soon as the ball touches or bounces over the boundary, the ball becomes dead and the batsman scores 4 runs. Unlike a home run in baseball, the batsmen do not have to run the equivalent of four runs. Also, since the ball is dead, no batsman may be out. If the ball is hit over the boundary without bouncing, it is not 4 runs, but 6 runs.
Importantly, a fielder touching or beyond the boundary is considered to be "beyond the boundary". The effect of this is that if a fielder gathers the ball and then touches the boundary or steps over it before releasing the ball, four runs are scored. Because of this rule, fielders near the boundary attempting to intercept the ball often flick the ball back in to the field of play rather than pick it up directly, and then return to pick it up after having slid into the boundary and then returned to the field.
Four runs can also be scored by hitting the ball into the outfield and running between the wickets four times, although this is rare as there is usually not enough time to do so before a fielder returns the ball. If a distinction is needed, this type of four is called an all run four while the first type is called a boundary four.
A team can also score four runs as extras:
- Four leg byes are scored if the batsman misses the ball with his bat, the ball hits his body, and then travels to the boundary. These are leg byes.
- Four byes are scored if the batsman misses the ball with his bat, the ball misses his body, and the wicket-keeper does not cleanly gather the ball, allowing it to travel to the boundary. These are byes.
- Four wides are scored if the bowler bowls the ball wide enough of the batsman to be deemed a wide by the umpire, the wicket-keeper is unable to gather it, and it travels to the boundary.
- Four no balls are scored if the bowler bowls a no ball, the batsman does not hit it with his bat, the ball misses his body, the wicket-keeper is unable to gather it, and it travels to the boundary.
Four runs can also be scored as overthrows, if a fielder gathers the ball and then throws it (accidentally) so that no other fielder can gather it before it reaches the boundary. In this case, the batsman who hit the ball scores however many runs the batsmen had run up to that time, plus four additional runs. Deliberately throwing the ball over the boundary is a penalty offence.
The scoring of a four is a significant event, often achieved by a display of skill by the batsman, and is usually greeted by a round of applause from the spectators. Fours can also be scored—usually by less skilled batsmen—accidentally as the bowler achieves an edge off the bat, but no fielder is able to catch or gather the ball as it runs to the boundary behind the batsman.
A deliberate four is often scored using an aggressive, attacking stroke of the bat. It signals that the batsman is in an attacking mode, and most often occurs when the batsman has played himself in and the bowlers have begun to tire. As such, the ratio of fours to runs scored by running often rises the longer a batsman bats in one innings.
Bowlers, for their part, sometimes encourage batsmen to attempt to hit fours by bowling deliveries slightly wider of the off stump than would normally be considered a good line, because a batsman who is batting aggressively and trying to hit fours is more likely to make a mistake and get out.
Fours are not uncommon, and usually something in the range of 10 to 100 fours will be scored in the course of a cricket match.
See also
