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Law 22 states that an over should comprise six
deliveries. The Australians did things differently
till the mid-1970s. Overs in first-class and Test
matches played 'Down Under' were eight-ball
affairs. New Zealand and South Africa also adopted
this system for some years. Today of course, the
six-ball over reigns supreme all over the
cricketing world.
Successive overs cannot be bowled from the same
end. There have been many instances of the same
bowler delivering the final over of the first
innings and the first over of the opposition's
second innings, but this privilege doesn't extend
to bowling consecutive overs in the same innings.
There has been the stray slip-up. In an Ashes Test
match in 1921, Australian skipper Warwick Armstrong
was guilty of bowling two consecutive overs. But it
was a genuine mistake and not a deliberate act on
his part. The reader might ask how such an obvious
mistake can be made. It so happened that the
English captain decided to declare. The batsmen,
fielders and umpires trooped off the field, but
Armstrong stayed on the ground. The rules of the
era stated that a team had to bat for at least 100
minutes in order to declare, and the Australian
captain was sure that the English hadn't batted
that long. He expected the players to return to the
field after the umpires had ascertained the
duration of the innings. A little while after he
had started reading a newspaper that had been
floating around on the field, the umpires and
players came back, and he promptly threw the
newspaper away and walked across to bowl. By this
time, everyone, including Armstrong himself, had
completely forgotten that he had bowled the last
over before the premature declaration!
John Mortimore of England also bowled two overs in
a row at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai in a
first-class match in the 1960s.
The umpire is supposed to call 'over' after six
legitimate deliveries have been bowled. In fact,
both the umpires count the deliveries and
'cross-check' after four or five balls have been
bowled. This is a very common sight on TV nowadays.
They seek the scorers' help if there is any doubt
in their minds. However, if the umpire has erred in
counting and called 'over' after say five or seven
balls, then his decision is taken as final.
In ODIs, both umpires keep tabs on the number of
overs bowled by every bowler. The people manning
the scoreboards are extra-vigilant in big matches,
but even they can err at times. I remember pointing
out a mistake made by the official scorers in
English bowler Chris Lewis' bowling figures during
an ODI at Gwalior in 1992-93. He had been wrongly
credited with an extra over that his teammate
Dermot Reeve had bowled. I confirmed the same with
my colleague and we accordingly informed Graham
Gooch, the English captain.
No-balls and wides are 'illegitimate' deliveries
and not counted in the over. Deliveries that are
bowled but not played because of the batsman's
withdrawal at the last moment due to some
distraction, and are classified as 'dead balls',
are also not counted.
A peculiar incident took place in a Duleep Trophy
match in Mumbai in the 1970s. The umpires replaced
the ball. Three balls of an over had been bowled at
the time. But the umpire at the bowler's end
started counting the over from the beginning i.e. 3
+ 6 - after the resumption. Surprisingly, no one
realized this, not even the other umpire or the
scorers. The poor bowler burnt extra calories for
no fault of his!
As per the laws, if a wicket falls within two
minutes of an interval or close of play, then the
remaining part of the over has to be completed only
after the interval, or the next day. The umpires
are supposed to keep track of the positions of the
batsmen at the end of the session, the number of
balls left, and the end from which play has to
resume.
This is necessary, as there have been many
instances of a batsman resuming his innings from
the wrong end. Although the batsmen are expected to
remember the end they were stationed at just before
an interval, there have been times when they have
been confused and have had to consult the umpires.
If a bowler breaks down or is suspended for
intimidatory bowling or running onto the danger
area during the course of an over, a teammate can
complete the over. There is a rider attached to
this in ODIs. If a bowler delivers only part of an
over, it is still considered a full over in his
bowling quota. If such a situation arises, the
umpires should bring it to the notice of the
fielding captain.
Nowadays, the umpire after calling 'over',
indicates which batsman has to face the first
delivery of the next over i.e. right hander or left
hander, so that the fielders know the positions
they have to take. |