What Is a No-Ball in Cricket? Every Type and the 2026 Law Changes
A no-ball is an illegal delivery. The batting side gets one run added to its score, the ball does not count as one of the six in the over, and the batter cannot be bowled, caught, stumped, LBW or out hit wicket from it. The rules are in Law 21 of the Laws of Cricket, plus a few other Laws it points to. They changed on 1 October 2026, when MCC's new edition of the Laws came into force, and one long-standing no-ball is now something else: a bouncer that goes over the batter's head is a wide.
Every Way a No-Ball Is Called
| No-ball | What the Law says | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Front foot | Some part of the front foot, grounded or raised, must land behind the popping crease | 21.5 |
| Back foot | The back foot must land inside the return crease without touching it | 21.5 |
| Wrong side of the stumps | The front foot must land on the same side of the middle-stump line as the return crease | 21.5 |
| Change of mode not declared | Changing arm, or over or round the wicket, without telling the umpire | 21.1 |
| Throwing | Straightening the elbow once the arm passes shoulder height | 21.2 |
| Underarm | Not allowed unless agreed before the match | 21.1 |
| Breaking the wicket | The bowler breaks the non-striker's wicket during the delivery | 21.6 |
| Bounces twice or rolls | Before reaching the popping crease, or lands off the pitch | 21.7 |
| Stops short, or very wide | Comes to rest in front of the striker, or so wide the striker would have to leave the pitch | 21.8 |
| Fielder touches the delivery | Before it reaches the striker | 21.9 |
| Wicketkeeper in front | Not wholly behind the stumps once the ball is released | 27.3 |
| Too many fielders behind square | More than two fielders, not counting the keeper, behind the popping crease on the leg side | 28.4 |
| Fielder on the pitch | Any part of a fielder over the pitch before the ball reaches the striker | 28.5 |
| Beamer | A full toss above the striker's waist | 41.7 |
| Dangerous or repeated short balls | Short deliveries the umpire judges dangerous, or that repeatedly pass above head height | 41.6 |
The full wording is in Law 21 on MCC's site.
What Changed on 1 October 2026
- A bouncer over head height is now a wide, not a no-ball. Law 22.1.3 says any delivery that passes over the head of the striker standing upright after landing is wide. MCC said the change brings the Laws in line with almost all professional cricket. Only repeated head-high short balls can still lead to a no-ball, as unfair bowling.
- Keepers are judged from release, not the run-up. A wicketkeeper no longer gives away a no-ball for having their gloves in front of the stumps while the bowler runs in; they must be wholly behind the stumps only once the ball is released.
- Every fielder must be inside the boundary at delivery. This closed a loophole where a third fielder could stand behind square on the leg side beyond the rope and not count as one of the two allowed.
- Deliberate no-balls cost a bowler the match, not the innings. A bowler who deliberately bowls a beamer or deliberately oversteps is now barred from bowling for the rest of the match.
The Penalty and How It Is Scored
A no-ball costs one penalty run, added instantly and charged to the bowler, and it stays even if a batter is out from the delivery. Anything the batter scores off the bat counts as well, so a no-ball hit for four is five runs. If the batter does not hit it, any runs they take are scored as byes or leg byes. The ball stays live, the over gets an extra delivery, and a no-ball always overrides a wide: if a delivery is both, it is a no-ball.
How a Batter Can Still Be Out
Only three ways: run out, hit the ball twice, or obstructing the field. A batter cannot be bowled, caught, LBW, stumped or out hit wicket off a no-ball. The 2026 Laws also protect a batter who walks off thinking they have been bowled without noticing the no-ball call: they cannot then be run out while leaving. Our guide to the LBW rule explains why the first test of an LBW is that the delivery was legal.
The Free Hit
The free hit is not in the Laws. It comes from competition playing conditions. In men's one-day and T20 internationals, the ball after any no-ball is a free hit: the batter can only be out the ways they could from a no-ball, the fielding side cannot change the field unless the striker changes, and if the free hit is itself a no-ball or wide, the next ball is a free hit too. There is no free hit in Test cricket. In England, the Vitality Blast and the Hundred use free hits in their 2026 playing conditions.
Who Calls a Front-Foot No-Ball
In most cricket the bowler's end umpire calls it. In international cricket the third umpire now does: the ICC first used television replays to call every front-foot no-ball at the Women's T20 World Cup in 2020, after a trial in which 13 no-balls were called from 4,717 deliveries, all judged correctly. It is now part of the men's Test, ODI and T20I playing conditions.
Beamers and Bouncer Limits
Every full toss above waist height is a no-ball. Whether the bowler is taken off depends on whether the umpire judges it dangerous, which brings a first and final warning, or deliberate, which now means removal for the match. That line was tested in the IPL in April 2026, when Kartik Tyagi bowled two above-waist full tosses in a final over and was allowed to continue, a decision a former ICC umpire told RevSportz was a mistake. International playing conditions also cap short balls above shoulder height: two an over in Tests and ODIs, one in T20Is, with a no-ball for any more.
FAQs: No-Balls
How many runs is a no-ball?
One penalty run, plus anything the batters score from the delivery.
Can you be out off a no-ball?
Only run out, hit the ball twice or obstructing the field. Not bowled, caught, LBW, stumped or hit wicket.
Is a bouncer over head height a no-ball?
Not since 1 October 2026. Under Law 22.1.3 it is a wide. Repeated head-high bouncers can still be no-balled as unfair bowling.
Is it a no-ball if the ball bounces twice?
Yes, if it bounces more than once or rolls along the ground before reaching the popping crease.
What is a back-foot no-ball?
The bowler's back foot lands touching or outside the return crease, the line at the side of the bowling crease.
Does a no-ball give a free hit?
In one-day and T20 internationals and English domestic white-ball competitions, yes. Not in Test cricket, and not under the Laws themselves.
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