Boundaries
Hit the ball over the boundary without it touching the ground: 6. Hit it to the boundary after it has bounced, or it reaches the boundary without being hit: 4.
What you need to know
- A 6 needs two things: the ball was hit by the bat, and its first bounce is beyond the boundary.
- Otherwise, a ball that reaches the boundary counts 4 — whether it bounced first or was never hit at all (then it's 4 byes or 4 leg byes).
- If the batters had already run more than the boundary is worth, they get the runs they ran instead (counting the run in progress if they had crossed).
- A fielder touching the ball while standing on or beyond the boundary rope makes it a boundary.
- A fielder may jump from outside the boundary to knock the ball back in, but only if their last contact with the ground before touching the ball was inside the boundary, and they must land inside afterwards.
- An overthrow that goes to the boundary scores the boundary plus the runs completed when the throw was made.
Examples
Specific situations
Overthrow to the boundary
You get the boundary plus the runs already completed — and the run in progress too, if the batters had crossed when the fielder threw.
- Law 19.8.1: runs from an overthrow boundary are the boundary allowance, plus runs completed at the instant of the throw, plus the run in progress if the batters had already crossed at that instant.
- It counts from the moment of the throw, not the moment the ball reaches the rope.
Source: MCC Law 19
A throw hits the batter and goes to the boundary
It counts as an overthrow boundary. The batting side gets the 4, plus the runs already completed — and the run in progress too, if the batters had crossed when the fielder threw. The ball hitting the batter on the way doesn't change that.
- A boundary is an overthrow when a fielder directs the ball towards the wickets and it then crosses the boundary (Law 19.8.2.1). A deflection off a batter in between doesn't stop it being one — the only exceptions are a fielder trying to stop the ball, or passing it a short distance near the rope (Law 19.8.2.2).
- For an overthrow boundary the runs are the boundary allowance, plus runs completed at the instant of the throw, plus the run in progress if the batters had crossed at that instant (Law 19.8.1).
- The runs go to the striker if the delivery was hit by the bat; otherwise they are byes or leg byes (Law 18.10).
Source: MCC Law 19 · MCC Law 18 · MCC Law 37
The ball hits a fielder's helmet and goes to the boundary
It's just a boundary — no penalty. The 5-run penalty applies only to a helmet lying on the ground; a helmet being worn is part of the fielder.
- Law 28.3 covers helmets placed on the ground behind the keeper, not helmets being worn.
- The boundary is scored as normal (Law 19.7).
Source: MCC Law 28 · MCC Law 19
Official source
The Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026). Summary in Inswing's own words — follow the link for the official text.
Related: Scoring runs · Caught