Everyone who follows knows that Cricket can be insane sometimes. There are a lot of rules that dictate cricket and both players and officials have to follow them. If you have no idea then there are 42 Laws or Rules of Cricket which every player has to obey. Even if you are a hardcore cricket fan then we are sure there are a few rules about which you have no idea. It’s because there were some past scenarios and rare incidents that have given birth to some of the most outrageous and weird rules of the game. And yes, it’s true some of them make no sense. So, let’s not pull this tail enough and straight away look at the list of these weird rules.
1. Batting Team Gets Penalty Runs for Kicking the Ball Intentionally
As mentioned, Cricket has many weird rules and the first one on our list follows the same niche. So, if a fielder intentionally kicks the ball over the boundary then 5 penalty runs are awarded to the batting team. Well, it doesn’t make any sense because the fielder intentionally kicks the ball outside the boundary is already 4 runs. This is once in a lifetime scenario because today’s players try to save every single run.
2. Batter Can’t Hit Ball Twice
Probably one of the most bizarre rules in Cricket is that a batter can’t hit the ball twice as he/she will be judged out. Well, if you and your friends have fought on this rule while playing gully cricket then you already know what we are talking about. Every victim of this rule never understands the reasons behind it. The catch behind this Law 34 is that the ball must hit the bat twice and should have not touched any fielder. However, the batter is considered not out if he/she strikes the ball the second time if they return the ball to the fielder but they need to get permission from the fielder to touch the ball.
A batter is also considered not out if they are preventing the ball from hitting the wickets, but apart from these two reasons, the batter will always be considered out if he/she hits the ball twice.
3. Most Strange Not Out Rule
If a fielder takes the catch after the ball has touched the fielder’s cap, helmet, or body cloth then the batter is considered Not Out. What is more freakish about it is that if the ball touches any other part of the body and after that fielder catches it then the batter will be considered OUT. It’s true that cricket is a strange game and rules like this justify the same.
4. Handling the Ball Rule
Another freaking rule in cricket is handling the ball rule. Most of you know about this rule and might be wondering what’s wrong with it as we have seen many players do it in order to save the stumps before the ball hits the wicket. Let us tell you why it is weird.
As per the rules, the batter is allowed to protect his/her wicket using his body, pads, helmets, and even the bat to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps but things get uncanny as the batter can’t use the hand that is not holding the bat.
Please someone explain to us why a batter will be Not Out if he/she deflected the ball using any one of his hands while still holding the bat with both hands.
5. Change of Umpire’s Position
Everyone knows that the umpire at the Striker’s end which is also known as leg umpire mostly stands on the leg side of the pitch. It’s common knowledge that the leg umpire stands on the leg side of the batter but if the view is hindered because of some fielder or any other reason then the leg umpire can choose any other position to observe the game. However, before the umpire does so he/she needs to inform the captain of the fielding team, the batter, the batter at the striker’s end, and the other umpire. If the umpire fails to do so then the ball is considered dead.
6. The 3-Minute Rule
This is Law 40 from the list of the laws of cricket which states that incoming batters need to be on the ground within 3 minutes when the previous batter gets out. The next ball has to be bowled in this time. If this fails to happen then the batter will be considered out which is also known as “Timed Out!”.
It’s strange because it can take more than 3 minutes for the batter to get ready and come on the ground to face the ball. That’s why we often see that the next batsman is already padded up even before a wicket has fallen.
7. Mowing of Grass on the Pitch
Probably one of the most freakish rules on the list is this one. No, we are not talking about mowing the grass on the ground to make the field consistent. In fact, there is a rule which requires how much grass should be left on the pitch.
It gets bizarre, the cricket pitch has to be mowed every single day of the match even if there is no grass on it. We believe that it’s insane.
8. No Ball if the Bowler Throws the ball at Strikers End
If the bowler throws the ball towards the striker’s end before entering the delivery stride, either umpire can call and signal a NO BALL. Well, it is quite interesting and an unknown rule which basically means that when a bowler is getting ready to bowl their next delivery and walking back to their run-up. And if the bowler decides to throw the ball at the batter on strike then the umpire can call it a no-ball. Well, we have never seen such an incident but this rule is law 21.4 among the 42 Laws.
Endnotes
These are some of the top weird and unknown cricket rules that you must know about. We hope you like this list of some of the freaking cricket rules that you ever heard of. Many players were the victims of these rules and we are going to see many interesting instances because of these rules in cricket.