Breaking the wicket and reaching your ground

Law 29 — Fairly breaking the wicket

Normally at least one bail must be completely removed, or a stump removed from the ground. The ball can do this directly. A fielder may use the hand or arm holding the ball, but not an empty hand while holding the ball in the other. The striker’s bat, person or certain detached equipment can also break the wicket; a detached protective helmet is excluded.

A merely disturbed bail is insufficient, although a falling bail lodged between stumps counts as removed. With one bail already off, remove the other or a stump. Fielders may restore the wicket while the ball is live, but umpires wait until it is dead. If the umpires have agreed to play without bails, an appropriate strike to the wicket can suffice in the umpire’s judgment.

Law 30 — Making and assigning ground

A batter is outside their ground unless some part of their person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease. However, after reaching that ground while running or diving towards and beyond it, a subsequent loss of ground contact, or separation of bat and person, does not by itself make the batter out of their ground.

If one batter is in a ground, it belongs to them even if the other arrives. If one then leaves, it belongs to the remaining batter. When neither occupies a ground, proximity determines ownership; when level, use who was nearer immediately beforehand. Ordinarily, one batter owning a ground assigns the other ground to the partner. A striker with a runner always also has ground at the keeper’s end.

The non-striker normally stands on the side of the wicket opposite the delivery side, unless the umpire permits a requested alternative.