No-Ball and Free Hit Rules in Cricket Explained

Updated: 31 October 2026 · Author: Cricket Match Scorecard Editorial

A no-ball is one of the most expensive mistakes a bowler can make, especially in limited-overs cricket. It gives away a run, must be bowled again and may hand the batter a free swing at the next delivery. Here is what counts as one, and how the free hit works.

What makes a delivery a no-ball?

The umpire signals a no-ball by holding an arm out sideways. These are the most common causes:

• Front foot: no part of the bowler's front foot is behind the popping crease when it lands. This is the most common reason.
• Back foot: the back foot lands touching or outside the return crease.
• Above waist height: a full toss reaches the batter above waist height without bouncing, which is dangerous as well as illegal.
• Too many bouncers: the bowler exceeds the limit on short-pitched balls for the over.
• Fielding restrictions: too many fielders are outside the circle, or more than two are behind square on the leg side.
• Illegal action: for example, throwing the ball rather than bowling it.

What happens after a no-ball?

1. One run (one extra) is added to the team's total. Some competitions have used a higher penalty.
2. Any runs the batter hits count too, so a six off a no-ball adds 7.
3. The delivery does not count as one of the over's six legal balls and must be bowled again.
4. In limited-overs cricket, the next ball is usually a free hit.

How a free hit works

On a free hit, the batter cannot be out in most of the usual ways. So they can swing as hard as they like without being bowled, caught, LBW or stumped.

There are important details:

• They can still be run out. They can also be out for hitting the ball twice or obstructing the field.
• The field is locked. Fielders generally cannot be moved for the free hit unless the striker has changed. If the batters ran a single off the no-ball, a new batter is on strike, and the field can change.
• It carries over. If the free hit itself is a wide or a no-ball, the free hit applies to the next ball as well.
• Runs still count. If the ball hits the stumps, the batters can still run, and those runs are recorded as byes.

Free hits apply in ODIs and T20s. They are not used in Test cricket.

Why it is so costly: a worked example

Say a team needs 12 from the last over. The bowler's first delivery is a front-foot no-ball, which the batter hits for four. In a single delivery:

• 5 runs are added: one for the no-ball and four off the bat.
• The target falls from 12 to 7.
• The team still has all six legal balls left.
• The next ball is a free hit.

Instead of needing two runs a ball, the side needs little more than one, with a free swing to come. It is easy to see why captains get so frustrated by front-foot no-balls at the death.

How wides differ

A wide is also an extra that must be bowled again, but it is given for being out of the batter's reach, not for an illegal action. A wide does not bring a free hit in standard international cricket, and the batter can be stumped off one. In white-ball cricket, anything passing down the leg side tends to be called wide.

How they appear on a scorecard

Extras are listed as w (wides) and nb (no-balls). These count against the bowler, so a bowler's runs conceded includes them. By contrast, byes and leg-byes are not charged to the bowler. The batter is credited with a ball faced for a no-ball, but not for a wide. That is why the batters' balls faced can exceed the legal deliveries in an innings if there were no-balls.

Our scorecard guide shows a full innings with extras, and our dismissals guide lists every method of getting out.