Dismissals (outs)

Main article: Dismissal (cricket)

There are ten ways in which a batsman can be dismissed; five relatively common and five extremely rare. The common forms of dismissal are "bowled", "caught", "leg before wicket" (lbw), "run out", and "stumped". Less common methods are are "hit wicket", "hit the ball twice", "obstructed the field", "handled the ball" and "timed out" - these are almost unknown in the professional game.
Before the umpire will award a dismissal and declare the batsman to be out, a member of the fielding side (generally the bowler) must "appeal". This is invariably done by asking (or shouting) "how's that?" - normally reduced to howzat? If the umpire agrees with the appeal, he will raise a forefinger and say "Out!". Otherwise he will shake his head and say "Not out". Appeals are particularly loud when the circumstances of the claimed dismissal are unclear, as is always the case with lbw and often with run outs and stumpings.

1. Bowled: the bowler has hit the wicket with the delivery and the wicket has "broken" with at least one bail being dislodged (note that if the ball hits the wicket without dislodging a bail it is not out).^[26]
2. Caught: the batsman has hit the ball with his bat, or with his hand which was holding the bat, and the ball has been caught before it has touched the ground by a member of the fielding side.^[27]
3. Leg before wicket (lbw): the ball has hit the batsman's body (including his clothing, pads etc. but not the bat, or a hand holding the bat) when it would have gone on to hit the stumps. This rule exists mainly to prevent the batsman from guarding his wicket with his legs instead of the bat. To be given out lbw, the ball must not bounce outside leg stump or, if the batsman made a genuine attempt to play the ball, outside off stump.^[28]
4. Run out: a member of the fielding side has broken or "put down" the wicket with the ball while the nearest batsman was out of his ground; this usually occurs by means of an accurate throw to the wicket while the batsmen are attempting a run, although a batsman can be given out Run out even when he is not attempting a run; he merely needs to be out of his ground.^[29]
5. Stumped is similar except that it is done by the wicketkeeper after the batsman has missed the bowled ball and has stepped out of his ground, and is not attempting a run.^[30]
6. Hit wicket: a batsman is out hit wicket if he dislodges one or both bails with his bat, person, clothing or equipment in the act of receiving a ball, or in setting off for a run having just received a ball.^[31]
7. Hit the ball twice is very unusual and was introduced as a safety measure to counter dangerous play and protect the fielders. The batsman may legally play the ball a second time only to stop the ball hitting the wicket after he has already played it.^[32]
8. Obstructing the field: another unusual dismissal which tends to involve a batsman deliberately getting in the way of a fielder.^[33]
9. Handled the ball: a batsman must not deliberately touch the ball with his hand, for example to protect his wicket. Note that the batsman's hand or glove counts as part of the bat while the hand is holding the bat, so batsmen are frequently caught off their gloves (i.e. the ball hits, and is deflected by, the glove and can then be caught).^[34]
10. Timed out usually means that the next batsman did not arrive at the wicket within three minutes of the previous one being dismissed.^[35]

In the vast majority of cases, it is the striker who is out when a dismissal occurs. If the non-striker is dismissed it is usually by being run out, but he could also be dismissed for obstructing the field, handling the ball or being timed out.
A batsman may leave the field without being dismissed. If injured or taken ill the batsman may temporarily retire, and be replaced by the next batsman. This is recorded as retired hurt or retired ill. The retiring batsman is not out, and may resume the innings later. An unimpaired batsman may retire, and this is treated as being dismissed retired out; no player is credited with the dismissal. Batsmen cannot be out bowled, caught, leg before wicket, stumped or hit wicket off a no ball. They cannot be out bowled, caught, leg before wicket, or hit the ball twice off a wide. Some of these modes of dismissal can occur without the bowler bowling a delivery. The batsman who is not on strike may be run out by the bowler if he leaves his crease before the bowler bowls, and a batsman can be out obstructing the field or retired out at any time. Timed out is, by its nature, a dismissal without a delivery. With all other modes of dismissal, only one batsman can be dismissed per ball bowled.