The ManicaPost
A COUPLE of months ago I touched on the issue of officials of the gentleman’s game of cricket and in this week’s article I am going to talk about the signals that the officials use in the game again.
This is quite an important area in the understanding of the game of cricket hence the repetition.
Like I tried to do the previous time, I will also list the teams that play the game. I will go back to looking at cricket from the Hwishu perspective because I have already made a likeness of the 2 sports.
Hwishu has no signals in it that shows that one is out of the game besides the ball being caught mid-air, or having the ball thrown at you whilst you are not in your house. Cricket, however has various signals.
Umpire Signals
The umpires signal various events with gestures, as follows:
Out:
When a batsman is out, the umpire making the decision raises one hand above his head, with the index finger extended.
Not Out:
There is no formal signal to indicate that a batsman is not out. The umpire can either shake his head ‘no’ or not signal at all.
Four:
A four scored by the ball reaching the boundary is signalled by an arm extended horizontally and waved briefly back and forth in a horizontal arc.
Six:
A six is signalled by raising both arms straight over the head.
No Ball:
A no ball is signalled by holding an arm out horizontally.
Wide:
A wide is signalled by holding both arms out horizontally.
Byes:
Runs scored as byes are signalled by raising one arm over the head, palm open.
Dead Ball:
If the umpire has to signal dead ball to prevent the players from assuming that the ball is still alive, he waves both arms across each other in front of his abdomen.
One Short:
One short is signalled by touching the tip of one hand to the same shoulder. Right leg raised and clasped by the right hand. Leg byes.
This sign indicates that the ball hit the pads of the batsman or woman, not the bat, and that the runs completed are adjudged to be leg byes.
These runs are not credited to the individual player’s score but to the team’s, as extras.
Right arm raised skywards. Byes: This shows that the ball has been missed by both the batsman or woman and the wicket-keeper.
Any runs scored are deemed to be byes. Byes, like leg byes, are counted as extras.
TV Replay:
If an umpire wishes the third umpire to make a decision based on a TV replay, he signals by drawing a large square shape in the air with both hands, spreading them out high in the air in front of him, bringing them down, and then together again.
There are 10 countries that are full members to the International Cricket Council which is the governing body for cricket world-wide.
These countries are Australia, Bangladesh, England,India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and our beloved Zimbabwe. Next week will be another issue on the point and we shall bat this innings out.
