A leg bye is a run scored when the ball strikes the batsman's body (excluding the hand holding the bat) and a run is taken. It is considered an extra and is added to the team's total score, but not to the batsman's individual score.
How Are Leg Byes Scored?
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The batsman attempts to play a shot, but the ball hits their body (except the hand holding the bat) instead of the bat.
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If the batsmen successfully run between the wickets, the runs are counted as leg byes.
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If the ball reaches the boundary after hitting the batsman's body, it results in four leg byes.
Conditions for Leg Byes:
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The batsman must have attempted a shot or tried to evade the ball.
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If the batsman makes no genuine attempt to play a shot and the ball hits the body, leg byes are not awarded.
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Leg byes are considered valid extras even on a no-ball, but not on a wide.
Example of Leg Byes:
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The bowler delivers a ball that hits the batsman's pad while attempting a shot. The batsmen take one run. This is counted as 1 leg bye.
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If the ball deflects off the pad to the boundary, it results in 4 leg byes.
Leg Byes vs. Byes:
| Feature |
Leg Byes |
Byes |
| Contact |
Hits the body (excluding hands) |
Misses the bat and the body |
| Attempt to Play |
Must attempt a shot or evade |
No shot attempt required |
| Scoring |
Recorded as leg byes |
Recorded as byes |
Impact of Leg Byes:
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Leg byes can add crucial runs to the team's total, especially in low-scoring games.
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They highlight effective running between the wickets and sometimes lapses in fielding.
Leg byes add an interesting element to the game, reflecting both the skill of the fielding team and the awareness of the batsmen.