- Penalty Runs
- A revision of the laws was made in order to punish those who often step out of the line.
- The MCC brought in a five-run penalty, but hopefully it will never be invoked and umpires will not have to use it.
- It's there in his armoury if the umpire needs it though.
- Penalty runs are treated like byes and leg byes as they are added to the extras.
- They could come into play for a variety of reasons; things like illegal fielding, time-wasting and the fielders damaging the pitch, though warnings would be given first.
- Penalty runs could be awarded without warning for things like unfairly changing the condition of the ball.
- The rules vary for offences by the batting team and penalty runs usually only come into play after warnings have been given or the runs taken have been cancelled...or both.
- It's quite complicated, but hopefully I won't have to consult my rule book. As I said, I hope this call is never made.
- The umpire signals five penalty runs by bringing one arm across his chest and touching his shoulder.
- If he taps that shoulder, the penalty runs are awarded to the batting side.
- If he simply places the hand there, runs are given to the fielding team.