A cricket pitch is 22 yards long; the crease edge, not the paint's centre, decides close calls.

The controlling ruleset used here

This page applies the Marylebone Cricket Club Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), effective 1 October 2022 and still in force through 30 September 2026. MCC writes and interprets the Laws; a league, national board or tournament may replace or add provisions through its playing conditions.

MCC has published the 4th Edition (2026), but it takes effect on 1 October 2026. Its Laws 6 and 7 retain the measurements explained here. The ICC men's T20I variation below is identified separately.

What the 22 yards and 10 feet measure

MCC Law 6.1 defines the pitch as a rectangle. Its 22-yard length runs between the bowling creases at the two ends. Its 10-foot width runs between two imaginary side lines, each parallel to the line joining the middle stumps and 5 ft/1.52 m from that centre line.

The pitch's side boundaries are therefore not the return creases. A return crease is only 4 ft 4 in from the centre line, leaving it 8 inches inside the normal 5-foot pitch boundary on that side. If an adjacent artificial pitch lies closer than 5 feet from the middle stumps, Law 6.1 ends that side of the pitch at the junction of the two surfaces.

The four lines required at each end

• Bowling crease — Law 7.2: exactly 8 ft 8 in/2.64 m long. It passes through the wicket and its back edge marks the end of the pitch.
• Popping crease — Law 7.3: parallel to and 4 ft/1.22 m in front of the bowling crease. Under the MCC baseline it must be painted for at least 6 ft/1.83 m on each side of the middle-stump centre line, a marked length of at least 12 ft/3.66 m.
• Two return creases — Law 7.4: perpendicular to the popping crease, with their inside edges 4 ft 4 in/1.32 m either side of the centre line.
• Return-crease marking: each starts at the popping crease and must be painted for at least 8 ft/2.44 m behind it.

Law 7 treats the popping crease as unlimited sideways and each return crease as unlimited behind the popping crease even where the white marking stops.

A painted stripe is not the legal line in its entirety

For the bowling and popping creases, MCC Laws 7.2 and 7.3 define the legal crease as the back edge of the white marking. For a return crease, Law 7.4 uses the inside edge—the edge on the same side as the nearer wicket. The centre and outer edge of a thick stripe do not move the legal boundary.

At either end, “behind the popping crease” means the side that does not contain the creases at the opposite end. A batter or front foot must reach past the relevant back edge into that area; merely looking as though it overlaps some white paint does not answer the legal test.

Who must check faded or misplaced lines?

The Ground Authority selects and prepares the pitch before the match under MCC Law 6.3. Law 2.4.2 requires the umpires to satisfy themselves before the toss and during the match that the creases are correctly marked. Under Law 9.5, the creases must be re-marked whenever either umpire considers it necessary.

A worn line does not create a new crease at the most visible patch of paint. The crease remains the line fixed by Law 7's geometry; officials should restore the marking when needed.

Three foot-position tests apply in the delivery stride

MCC Law 21.5 requires the bowler's end umpire to be satisfied of all three points:

1. The back foot lands within and does not touch the return crease for the bowler's stated mode of delivery.
2. Some part of the front foot, grounded or raised, lands on the same side of the imaginary middle-stump line as that return crease.
3. Some part of the front foot, grounded or raised, lands behind the popping crease.

If any test fails, it is a No ball. Under MCC Laws 21.14–21.17, the batting side receives the one-run No-ball penalty and the delivery does not count in the over; the ball is not automatically dead. A free hit is not part of the MCC Laws baseline and applies only where the competition's playing conditions provide one.

The popping crease marks ground, not an automatic dismissal

MCC Law 30.1 says a batter is out of their ground unless some part of their person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end. Being out of ground creates vulnerability; it does not by itself dismiss the batter. The relevant dismissal must still satisfy its own conditions—for example, a fairly broken wicket and the other tests for Run out or Stumped.

Law 30.1.2 protects a batter who, while running or diving towards and beyond the ground, first grounds bat or person beyond the crease and then momentarily loses contact while continuing that movement. A bat bouncing after it has made ground is therefore not automatically out. The exception does not protect a batter who simply steps back out after taking up a stationary position.

The 58-foot figure does not shorten an adult pitch

MCC Law 6.5 says the artificial surface on a non-turf pitch must be at least 58 ft/17.68 m long and 6 ft/1.83 m wide. That is a minimum for the laid surface, not a replacement for Law 6.1's 22-yard pitch length. A standard popping crease is 4 feet in front of each bowling crease, so the two popping creases are 58 feet apart.

Junior cricket is a genuine exception. MCC Law 6.6 leaves the pitch length to the governing body for cricket in the country concerned. Age group, jurisdiction and competition regulations must therefore be checked; “junior pitch” has no single worldwide length under the MCC Laws.

International playing conditions extend the markings

The ICC Men's Twenty20 International Playing Conditions, July 2025, keep the 22-yard by 10-foot pitch and the same bowling- and return-crease geometry, but clause 7.3 requires the popping crease to be marked for at least 15 yards/13.71 m on each side of the middle-stump centre line. That is far longer than MCC Law 7.3's six-foot minimum.

ICC clause 7.5 and Appendix C also allow white off-side Wide guidelines. The diagram shows protected-area indicators as well. These additional markings serve other decisions; they are not extra return or popping creases and do not change which Law 7 edge controls a foot fault or a batter's ground.

Under standard clause 6.5, men's T20Is use natural turf, with a hybrid pitch possible after ICC approval. The ICC addendum for “Green” status Members instead permits natural-turf or artificial pitches. This is a competition provision, not a change to the general MCC minimum for a non-turf surface.

How to read a close crease replay

1. Name the ruleset. Start with MCC, then check the appointed competition's current playing conditions.
2. Name the decision. Pitch boundary, bowler's front foot, bowler's back foot and batter's ground use different lines or edges.
3. Locate the legal edge. Use the back edge for the bowling or popping crease and the inside edge for a return crease.
4. Apply the complete test. A front foot has two requirements; a batter out of ground is not necessarily out; a no-ball remains live unless another provision makes it dead.
5. Check the exception or variation. Consider the diving-batter protection, junior dimensions, non-turf surface rule and competition-specific markings.
6. Apply the consequence. Re-mark a deficient crease, call No ball for a failed delivery-foot test, or continue to the separate dismissal law for a batter.

The front toe is beyond the stripe

Situation: the bowler's toe lands beyond the popping-crease marking, but a raised part of the heel still projects behind the crease's back edge. The back foot and middle-stump-line tests are satisfied.

MCC 2022 ruling: fair in respect of the feet. Law 21.5.2 expressly allows the part behind the crease to be grounded or raised. The decisive fact is that some part of the front foot remains behind the legal back edge.

The back foot touches the return-crease edge

Situation: the bowler lands the back foot on the white return marking and the foot reaches its inside edge.

MCC 2022 ruling: No ball under Law 21.5.1. The back foot must land within and not touching the legal return crease. The one-run No-ball penalty applies and the delivery does not count in the over.

A diving bat grounds safely, then bounces

Situation: a running batter slides the bat past the popping crease, grounds it, and the bat then bounces clear of the turf as the wicket is broken while the forward dive continues.

MCC 2022 ruling: the batter is not out of ground under Law 30.1.2. The decisive facts are prior grounding beyond the crease and continuous running or diving towards and beyond the ground. If the batter had stopped and then deliberately lifted or withdrawn the bat, the protection would not apply.

An artificial mat is only 58 feet long

Situation: an open-age match uses a 58-foot artificial surface, with the wickets and bowling creases still 22 yards apart.

MCC 2022 ruling: the surface meets Law 6.5's minimum length, subject also to its six-foot minimum width and any governing-body conditions. The pitch has not become 58 feet long; the 58 feet corresponds to the distance between standard popping creases.

Five claims that need correction

• “The return creases are the sides of the pitch.” No. The pitch side lines are imaginary and normally 5 feet from the centre; return creases are 4 ft 4 in from it.
• “The whole white stripe is the crease.” No. Law 7 selects a particular edge.
• “Touching a return crease is legal because part of the foot is inside.” Not for the back foot: it must be within and not touching.
• “Out of the crease means out.” It means out of ground. A valid dismissal and, normally, an appeal are still required.
• “Every popping crease is painted only six feet each side.” Six feet is the MCC minimum; ICC men's T20Is require at least 15 yards each side.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• MCC — Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), Laws 2.4, 6, 7, 9.5, 21.5 and 30.1
• MCC — Law 6, The pitch
• MCC — Law 7, The creases
• MCC — Law 21, No ball, especially 21.5 and 21.14–21.18
• MCC — Law 30, Batter out of ground
• MCC — 4th Edition announcement and 1 October 2026 effective date
• ICC — Men's Twenty20 International Playing Conditions, July 2025, clauses 6.5 and 7.1–7.5; Appendix C
• ICC — Men's and Women's T20I Playing Conditions Addendums, “Green” status Members, clause 6.5

Checked on 26 August 2026 against the MCC 2022 edition currently in force, MCC's published 2026 edition and implementation notice, and the ICC T20I documents listed above. The MCC 2026 edition takes effect on 1 October 2026 and retains these crease dimensions. Junior, domestic and tournament regulations may supplement or replace the baseline, so the playing conditions appointed for the match remain controlling.