Out Stumped or Run Out

[chinaman]

An out is an out just like a four is a four whether it's a an edge between the slips, or a classic cover-drive as the Lloydian story goes by. Didn't here the Lloyd story? Go ask Navarene, I'm sure he will be delighted to tell the tale one more time. Back to the out. Where an out is an out why care to figure out if it is out stumped or run out? Well, you don't need to, but for those who do need, here's a tip, the former deals with giving credit as much as the later deals with giving discredit. Like many of you I'm very cheap in giving credits, so let's discredit all the credits for a moment and see what they say about the outs.

The root cause of dismissal in both cases is same, the batsman is out of his ground when the ball is in play. But the distinction between the two lies elsewhere, buried deep in the answers of "when" and "who". Are you with me so far? Good. Sit back and relax, we are about to dig deeper but you know what, I can tell, you will enjoy the ride. Let's begin with a closer look at each of the conditions mentioned earlier, one at a time.

When:

Laws of Cricket define this timing for stumping as the striker "is receiving a ball which is not a No ball". I must admit, the language here is not crystal clear but clear enough to call for a sound judgment. So the stumping occurs in the time frame starting with the delivery of a fair ball and ending with the earliest moment when it can safely be said that the striker finished receiving the ball. In other words, the striker can not be out stumped if he completed receiving the ball. In yet another way to say this is that stumping occurs only when the striker is in the process of receiving the ball, no sooner, no later.

Run out occurs after the striker finished receiving the ball but before the ball becomes dead. At this time frame, the batsmen have no reason to leave popping crease but to score run. Yeah, you guess it right, the fielding side is never in the philanthropic mood of donating runs, they will display every bit of their acrobatic talent to try to stop runs and run out is one sure way to make that statement. What a noble cause, you might think. Well I do agree with you here. In case the person next to you asks, if batsman leaves the popping crease only to avoid injury and his wickets were subsequently put down, he will not be out. After all, cricket is gentlemen's game, they say.

Now we can fairly say that, run out is the extension of stumping on the scale of time but not the other way around. When the time for stumping ends, run out time begins. Too bad for the batsman, there's no safe interval in between. But actually, run out is more than just being an extension of stumping because it is possible for the batsmen to be run out during the bowler's run up. Still with me? Great, let's move on.


Who:

This who thing encompasses both team. "Who" is being considered to be out, striker or non-striker from the batting side and "who" made the out from the fielding side. For batting side, only the striker may be out stumped while for fielding side, only the wicketkeeper may stump out the striker. As for run out, any batsmen, striker, runner or non-striker, may be run out and any fielder including the bowler and the wicketkeeper, may run out the batsmen. So, when the wicketkeeper breaks the wicket, it could either be a stumped out or be a run out; we'll need to check on the "when" and "motive" thing to figure it out.

Motive:

Those of you who prefer to ask questions than to answer one, this portion is for you. In stumping, the striker is reaching out for the popping crease after coming out in an attempt to play the ball. In run out on the other hand, the batsman is reaching out for the popping crease after coming out in an attempt to score a run. No wonder they call it run out.


Interesting Points:

* Stumping is possible from a wide ball but not from a no ball while run out is possible from both.

* If the delivery is a no ball and the striker is not attempting a run, he will not be out stumped or run out even if he is out of his ground, by the wicketkeeper alone. Another fielder's touch is necessary to accomplish the run out.

* Fielder including the bowler and the wicketkeeper, may break the wicket by:
a) throwing or kicking the ball at the wicket
b) deflecting from the body or equipment except the helmet at the wicket
c) holding the ball and hitting the wicket with the ball or with the hand which is holding the ball.

* The non-striker may be run out if the striker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker's wicket, and the bowler (or any other fielder) deflects the ball on to the wicket while the non-striker is out of his ground. If the ball hits the non-striker's wicket directly without being touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out.

* If the non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation for a run) while the bowler is making the run up, the bowler may run him out without bowling the ball (famous Rafique incidence where he chose to warn the non-striker instead in a great display of sportsmanship which costs Bangladesh dearly).

* The bowler is credited with taking the wicket if a batsman is out bowled, caught, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket.

* If the ball hits the fielder's helmet while he is wearing it, a catch cannot be made, but the ball remains in play. If the ball hits a fielder's helmet when not being worn then it is a dead ball and 5 penalty runs awarded to the batting side as extra.

* If the ball played by the striker directly hits a helmet worn by a fielder and without further contact with him or any other fielder rebounds directly on to the wicket, the batsman is not out, even if he is out of his ground. However, the ball remains in play.