A run out needs a live ball, lost ground, and a fairly broken wicket; a stumping adds narrower tests.

The ruleset and date used here

This page applies the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), effective worldwide as the Laws baseline from 1 October 2022, plus MCC's clarification of Law 38.3 effective 19 January 2023. It was checked on 26 August 2026 and is current through 30 September 2026.

MCC writes and interprets the Laws; the International Cricket Council and domestic governing bodies can add or replace details through competition playing conditions, particularly review procedures and runner eligibility. This is therefore an MCC baseline, not a claim that every tournament uses identical procedures.

Six checks decide the appeal

1. Is the ball live? Neither dismissal can be completed after the ball is dead.
2. Which end was put down? Run out is tied to the wicket that was broken, not simply to the batter nearest the throw.
3. Whose ground is it? Apply MCC Law 30.2 if the batters have crossed, are level, or are together at one end.
4. Was that batter out of their ground? Freeze the moment a bail is completely removed or a stump is removed—not merely the first frame in which the wicket moves.
5. Was the wicket broken fairly? Apply Law 29 to the ball, bail, stump, and any fielder holding the ball.
6. Which dismissal is legally available? Apply the special Stumped tests first, then the Run out exceptions, no-ball status, injury protections, and appeal requirements.

Either batter can be run out, even without attempting a run

Under MCC Law 38.1, either batter is out Run out if, while the ball is in play, that batter is out of their ground and their wicket is fairly broken by the action of a fielder, subject to Law 38.2. A no-ball does not generally prevent a run out, and an attempted run is not a universal requirement.

Law 38.4 identifies the dismissed batter as the one whose ground is at the end where the wicket is fairly broken. This is why replay analysis must establish ground ownership as well as physical position.

Something must be grounded behind the popping crease

A batter is out of their ground unless some part of their person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end. A foot or bat hovering over the safe side is not enough, and contact only on the crease does not establish contact behind it.

Law 30.1.2 protects a batter who, while running or diving towards and beyond the ground, first grounds the bat or body beyond the crease and then loses contact as forward movement continues. A naturally bouncing bat therefore does not undo ground already made. The protection does not grant permanent safety after the batter voluntarily leaves that ground or changes direction for a new run.

Crossing is not a complete answer

Law 30.2 supplies the ownership rules. If only one batter is within a ground, it belongs to that batter and remains theirs if the other batter joins them. If both are in the same ground and one then leaves, the ground belongs to the batter who remains.

If neither batter is in a ground, each ground belongs to the batter nearer to it. If they are exactly level, use whichever batter was nearer immediately before they drew level. Once one ground belongs to one batter, the opposite ground normally belongs to the other. A commentator's shorthand that “the batters had crossed” can therefore miss the decisive Law 30 test.

The bail must come off completely, or a stump must come out

A wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps or a stump is removed from the ground. A bail that merely jumps and settles back is not completely removed; a falling bail lodged between two stumps counts as removed.

The ball itself can remove a bail or stump. A fielder can also do so with a hand or arm, but the ball must be held in the hand or hands used, or in the hand of the arm used. An empty hand cannot complete a run out. A direct throw needs no further touch from a fielder.

If one bail is already off, removing the other bail or removing a stump in a Law 29 manner is enough. If the wicket has already been broken, a fielder may replace a bail or stump while the ball remains live and then break it fairly again. Where the umpires have agreed to play without bails, the relevant umpire decides whether the wicket has been fairly broken under Law 29.5.

All four narrow conditions must be present

The striker is out Stumped only when all of these are true:

1. The ball has been delivered and is not called No ball.
2. The striker is out of their ground.
3. The striker has not attempted a run.
4. The wicket-keeper fairly puts down the striker's wicket without another fielder's intervention.

If all four apply, Law 39.1.2 makes the dismissal Stumped even if a Run out decision might otherwise be justified. The striker need not have played at or missed the ball; leaving the ground to play or avoid the delivery can still satisfy the rule.

A rebound from the keeper can still be a stumping

Law 39.2 treats the wicket as put down by the wicket-keeper when the ball rebounds onto it from any part of the keeper's person or equipment, or when the keeper kicks or throws the ball onto it. Another fielder's intervention removes the “keeper alone” condition, so the appeal must instead be tested under Run out.

The wicket-keeper must also comply with Law 27.3's position requirement. A breach produces a no-ball, which makes Stumped unavailable.

A wide allows a stumping; a no-ball does not

A striker can be stumped from a Wide because a wide is still a delivered, live ball and Law 39 excludes only a no-ball. The one-run Wide penalty stands if the striker is stumped. If that Wide penalty has already completed the match, however, the later stumping cannot occur because the result has already been reached.

On a no-ball, Stumped is unavailable. Run out usually remains available, but Law 38.2.2.2 protects a striker who is out of their ground, is not attempting a run, and has their wicket put down by the wicket-keeper without another fielder's intervention. If the striker is attempting a run, or another fielder intervenes, the ordinary Law 38.1 test can still apply.

Not every broken wicket produces a run out

• Avoiding injury: a batter who was within their ground and subsequently left it to avoid injury is not out Run out under Law 38.2.1.1. A striker who leaves after receiving the delivery to avoid injury is not out Stumped under Law 39.3.1, although Run out can still be considered where its separate conditions apply.
• Delivery hits the wicket untouched: if the bowler's delivery has not contacted a fielder before breaking the wicket, the striker is not out Run out under Law 38.2.1.2. Another dismissal, most obviously Bowled, may be the relevant appeal.
• Ground already made: Law 30.1.2's running-or-diving protection applies even if bat-to-ground or bat-to-person contact is then lost during the continuing movement.
• Ball already dead: a keeper or fielder cannot revive the delivery by breaking the wicket after the ball has become dead.

The bowler may run out the non-striker before the delivery cutoff

Under Law 38.3 as clarified by MCC on 19 January 2023, the non-striker is liable to be run out from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant the bowler would normally be expected to release it. MCC defines that instant as the moment the bowling arm reaches the highest point of the normal delivery swing. Once the arm reaches that point, the bowler can no longer use this special route, even if the non-striker had already left early.

The bowler may break the non-striker's wicket by throwing the ball at it or with the hand holding the ball, whether or not the ball is then delivered. No prior warning is required by the Laws. If the non-striker is dismissed, the ball does not count in the over. If the bowler does not deliver and there is no dismissal, the umpire calls Dead ball and that attempted ball also does not count.

The umpire still needs a valid appeal

Law 31 prevents an umpire from giving a batter out without a fielding-side appeal, unless the batter leaves the wicket knowing they are out. An appeal must be made before the bowler starts the next run-up—or the next bowling action if there is no run-up—and before Time is called. The call of Over does not by itself invalidate an appeal made before the next over starts.

The MCC Laws define the on-field ruling but do not create one universal video-review system. ICC and domestic competitions may prescribe third-umpire referrals, player reviews, technology limits, and who initiates a check. Those procedures do not change the underlying questions about live ball, ground, and the instant the wicket was fairly put down.

Completed runs can stand on a run out

For Run out, Law 38.5 disallows the run in progress when the wicket is broken, but completed runs and applicable penalty runs stand. The bowler does not receive credit for a run-out wicket. The special scoring provisions for a striker who has a runner are different and depend on Law 25.6.

For Stumped from a Wide, the one-run Wide penalty remains. A stumping also returns the not-out batter to their original end under Law 18.11. Competition scorecard and review procedures can add administration, but they do not change the dismissal classification in Laws 38 and 39.

The bat grounds before the bail is completely off

Situation: a direct throw strikes the stumps. The bail starts rising while the batter's bat is short, but the bat is grounded behind the crease before the bail is completely removed.

MCC 2022 ruling: not out Run out. Under Laws 29.1 and 30.1, the comparison is made when the bail is completely removed. The batter has made their ground by that instant.

A keeper-pad rebound breaks the wicket

Situation: from a legal delivery, the striker advances without attempting a run. The ball misses the bat, rebounds from the wicket-keeper's pad, and removes a bail while the striker is out of their ground.

MCC 2022 ruling: out Stumped. Law 39.2 treats the rebound as the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket, and every Law 39.1 condition is satisfied.

The same keeper action follows a no-ball

Situation: No ball is called. The striker is out of their ground but has not attempted a run, and the wicket-keeper alone removes the bail.

MCC 2022 ruling: not out Stumped because Law 39 requires a delivery that is not a no-ball; also not out Run out because the precise protection in Law 38.2.2.2 applies. If another fielder had intervened, or the striker had attempted a run, Run out would need to be tested again.

Both batters are behind the same crease

Situation: the striker reaches the wicket-keeper's ground first. The non-striker then joins them there. The keeper breaks that wicket while both are behind the crease.

MCC 2022 ruling: no run out at that end. Under Law 30.2.1, the ground remains the striker's, and the striker is safely within it; the non-striker's ground is at the opposite end. Breaking the opposite wicket while the ball is live is the route to running out the non-striker.

Five shortcuts that produce the wrong ruling

• “Any keeper dismissal outside the crease is stumped.” An attempted run, a no-ball, or another fielder's intervention can change the classification or prevent dismissal.
• “The wicket breaks on first contact.” A bail must be completely removed or a stump removed.
• “A bouncing bat is always out.” Ground already made during a continuing run or dive is protected by Law 30.1.2.
• “A no-ball prevents a run out.” It prevents Stumped, but Law 38 still allows many run outs.
• “The bowler must warn a backing-up non-striker.” MCC says no warning is required by the Laws.

MCC's 4th Edition is published but not yet effective here

The 2017 Code, 4th Edition comes into force on 1 October 2026. Its Law 38.3 states the non-striker cutoff directly as the moment the bowler's arm reaches the highest point of the normal delivery swing, removing the older “normally expected to release” formulation while retaining that defined cutoff. Its Law 38.1 also expressly covers the ball rebounding off a fielder's person.

Two other changes can affect close cases. New Law 27.3 starts the keeper's remain-behind duty at the instant of delivery rather than when the ball first comes into play. New Law 20.1 treats the ball as finally settled when it is in any fielder's hand or stationary on the ground and the bowler's-end umpire determines that it is no longer in play.

Until that effective date, this page applies the 3rd Edition wording and the January 2023 clarification. A competition that adopts a provision early through its own playing conditions must identify that departure in its appointed rules.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• MCC — Laws of Cricket editions and competition-regulation scope
• MCC — 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), Law 38: Run out
• MCC — 2017 Code, 3rd Edition (2022), Law 39: Stumped
• MCC — Law 27: The wicket-keeper, including position at Law 27.3
• MCC — Law 29: The wicket is broken
• MCC — Law 30: Batter out of their ground
• MCC — Law 31: Appeals
• MCC — Law 20: Dead ball
• MCC — 2022 edition changes, effective 1 October 2022
• MCC — Non-striker leaving their ground early, Law 38.3 clarification, 19 January 2023
• MCC — 4th Edition announcement and 1 October 2026 effective date
• MCC — Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026), Laws 20, 27, 29, 30, 38 and 39; effective 1 October 2026

Checked against MCC's live Laws 20, 27, 29–31, 38 and 39, the 2022 effective-edition notice, the January 2023 Law 38.3 clarification, and the published 4th Edition due on 1 October 2026. ICC, national-board, tournament, age-grade, and local playing conditions may supplement the MCC baseline and should be checked for the appointed match.