A qualifying lead gives the captain a choice—not an automatic follow-on.
Published
In a two-innings match, the side that batted first may make the other side bat its second innings immediately, but only after both first innings are complete and the first side has the lead required for the match's scheduled length.
Quick ruling: under MCC Law 14 in the 2017 Code, 3rd Edition 2022, the minimum lead is 200 runs in a match scheduled for five days or more, 150 in three or four days, 100 in two days, and 75 in one day. The captain of the side that batted first decides whether to enforce the follow-on, must notify the opposing captain and the umpires, and cannot change the decision after giving notice.
Scope
The rule and version used here
This page applies Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Law 14, “The follow-on,” in the Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, 3rd Edition 2022, effective from 1 October 2022. That is the general Laws baseline in force on 26 August 2026. It applies to two-innings cricket unless the competition's playing conditions replace or supplement it.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) issues separate conditions for international cricket. Current men's Test, World Test Championship and women's Test applications are identified below; domestic, age-grade and tournament regulations should be checked independently.
Required lead
The threshold follows the match's duration
MCC Law 14.1 gives the side batting first the option at these first-innings leads:
Five days or more: at least 200 runs.
Three or four days: at least 150 runs.
Two days: at least 100 runs.
One day: at least 75 runs, if it is a two-innings match.
“At least” includes the exact number. A lead of 200 qualifies in a five-day match; 199 does not. The scheduled duration controls unless the special lost-first-day provision in Law 14.3 applies.
Decision path
Five checks decide whether it is available
Confirm the format: each side must be entitled to two innings. Ordinary one-innings limited-overs matches have no follow-on.
Wait for both first innings to be complete: the option cannot be calculated part-way through the second side's first innings.
Identify the side that batted first: it is that side—not necessarily the side that won the toss—that can have the option.
Calculate its lead and select the threshold: use the official first-innings totals and the applicable match duration, including Law 14.3 if the first day was wholly lost.
Choose and notify: if the lead qualifies, that side's captain may decline or enforce. Notice to the other captain and the umpires makes enforcement final.
Completed innings
The second side does not have to be bowled out
Law 14 works with completed first innings. Under MCC Law 13.3, an innings can finish because the side is all out; no further batter is available after a wicket or retirement; the captain declares or forfeits; or an agreed over or time limit expires.
That matters in declaration cricket. If the side batting second declares while trailing by the qualifying amount, its first innings is complete and the first side's captain can enforce. A score shown during an unfinished innings, however large the apparent lead, is not yet enough to trigger the option.
Captain's notice
The umpires apply the Law; the captain chooses
MCC Law 14.2 assigns the choice to the captain of the side that batted first and holds the qualifying lead. The umpires do not order a follow-on merely because the threshold has been reached.
To take the option, the captain must notify both the opposing captain and the umpires. Once notified, the decision cannot be changed. If the captain does not enforce, the normal alternating order resumes and the side that batted first begins its second innings.
Lost first day
A complete washout can lower the threshold
MCC Law 14.3 applies when no play takes place on the first day of a match scheduled for more than one day. The threshold is then selected by the number of days remaining from the day play first starts, and that start day counts as a whole day even if play begins late.
For this rule, play has taken place once, after the call of Play, the first over has started. Therefore a five-day match with no play on day one and a start on day two is treated as having four days remaining, so 150 runs is enough. If even one over has started on day one before rain ends play, the match remains in the five-day, 200-run category.
Do not reduce it for ordinary lost time: rain later in the match, or a shortened first day after the first over starts, does not by itself lower the lead. A competition with a reserve day or a special interruption clause may define the calculation differently, so its appointed playing conditions control.
What changes
It changes innings order, not the scoring system
Normally the sides alternate innings: A first, B first, A second, B second. An enforced follow-on changes that to A first, B first, B second, and then A second only if it is still needed.
If B's two completed innings still total fewer runs than A's first innings, A wins by an innings and the remaining runs without batting again. If B moves ahead on aggregate, A must chase the difference plus one run in its second innings. If time expires before a result, the match may still be drawn. The follow-on itself awards no runs and guarantees no result.
ICC Tests
Current international conditions use the same core test
ICC men's Tests, effective June 2025: matches are scheduled for five days, and clause 14.1 requires a lead of at least 200 runs. The ICC World Test Championship 2025–2027 conditions use the same five-day and 200-run rule.
ICC women's Tests, effective July 2026: a match may be scheduled for four or five days. Clause 14.1 expressly requires 150 runs for a four-day Test and 200 for a five-day Test.
All three current ICC documents retain captain's notice and the lost-first-day test. The practical difference highlighted here comes from the scheduled match length, not from a universal “Test cricket equals 200” rule.
Worked case 1
An exact 200-run lead in a five-day Test
Situation: A bats first and completes its innings on 450. B is all out for 250.
MCC 2022 / ICC men's Test June 2025 ruling: A leads by exactly 200, so A's captain may enforce the follow-on. If B had made 251, the 199-run lead would not qualify. The decisive facts are that both first innings are complete and the threshold includes equality.
Worked case 2
A first-day washout changes the category
Situation: a five-day match has no play on day one. Play first starts on day two. A then scores 330 and B completes its first innings on 180.
MCC 2022 ruling: A may enforce. Law 14.3 treats day two as the first of four remaining days, so the threshold is 150 and A's exact 150-run lead qualifies. If the first over had started on day one before the abandonment, the 200-run threshold would remain and A could not enforce on these scores.
Worked case 3
The following-on side can set a target
Situation: in a five-day match A scores 420 and B scores 220. A enforces, and B makes 250 in its second innings.
MCC 2022 ruling: B's aggregate is 470, fifty ahead of A's first innings. A must therefore make 51 in its second innings to win. The follow-on did not alter either score; it only put B's two innings back-to-back.
Common mistakes
Four claims the Law does not support
“A 200-run lead always applies.” The threshold ranges from 75 to 200 according to match duration and may change after a wholly lost first day.
“A qualifying side must enforce.” Law 14 creates an option. The captain may instead bat again.
“Any first-day rain lowers the number.” No. Law 14.3 requires no play at all on that day; the start of the first over is enough to count as play.
“The toss winner owns the option.” The relevant side is the side that actually batted first, including when it was sent in by the toss winner.
From 1 October 2026
The published next MCC edition does not change the calculation
MCC has published the 2017 Code, 4th Edition 2026, but announced that it comes into force on 1 October 2026. It is therefore not the general Laws baseline on this page's 26 August 2026 check date.
The new Law 14 retains the 200/150/100/75 thresholds, captain's notice, irrevocable decision and lost-first-day calculation. Its notification wording uses “intention to enforce the follow-on”; this is a wording update, not a new threshold or procedure.
Checked on 26 August 2026 against MCC Laws 13–14, the current ICC men's, women's and World Test Championship playing conditions, and MCC's published next edition. MCC Law 14 is the baseline; the regulations appointed for a particular domestic, age-grade or tournament match may supplement or replace it.
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