Extras explained: wides, no-balls and free hits
A wide or a no-ball gives the batting side one run and has to be bowled again, so it does not count as one of the over’s six balls. After a no-ball, most limited-overs cricket gives a free hit, a ball the batter cannot be out from except by a run out.
In short
- Runs nobody hitAn extra counts in the total and against the bowling side, never in a batter's runs.
- Wides and no-balls againEach gives one run and is bowled again, so it is not one of the over's six balls.
- Off a no-ball countsRuns hit off a no-ball are the batter’s, so a four off one is five to the total.
- Byes and leg byesRuns taken when the ball beats the bat and the keeper, or comes off the batter's body.
- A free hit followsAfter a no-ball the batter cannot be out except by a run out, in most limited-overs cricket.
- Score them as they happenTap Wide or No-ball, then say what the ball turned out to be in the row under the keys.
What an extra is
An extra is a run the batting side gets without a batter scoring it. They count in the total and against the bowling side, but never in any batter's runs.
- A is a ball too far from the batter to hit. One run, and it is bowled again.
- A is an illegal delivery, most often the bowler's front foot over the line. One run, and it is bowled again. Anything the batter hits off it is still theirs: a four off a no-ball is five to the total, four of them to the batter, and it counts as a ball they faced.
- A bye is a run taken when the ball misses the bat and the keeper, and a leg bye when it comes off the batter's body.
- A follows a no-ball in most limited-overs cricket: the batter cannot be out from it except by a run out.
Why the over runs long
An over is six legal balls. A wide or a no-ball is not one of them, so an over with two wides in it takes eight deliveries. The overs figure only moves on a legal ball, which is what the practice match above shows: tap Wd and the over stays where it was.
Score them
The console has a key for each: Wide and No-ball. Each records one extra and waits for the ball to be bowled again. Under the keys, the ball just recorded can say what it turned out to be: after a no-ball, an Off the bat row offers the runs hit off it; after a wide, Wides run offers the ones the batters ran; and runs of one to four can be marked Byes or Leg byes, which moves them out of the batter's runs and the bowler's figures. If nothing more happened, just score the next ball. Penalty runs sit beside the end-of-innings button. The console marks the ball after a no-ball as a Free hit, carrying the mark over a wide as the law does. Whether a wicket stands on it is the umpire's call, so score the ball as it happened.
Questions people ask
About extras explained.
Does a wide count as a ball?
No. The over still needs six legal balls, which is why an over with wides in it runs long.
Who gets the run for a wide?
The batting side, as an extra. It counts against the bowler but not towards any batter.
How do I score byes?
Score the runs as usual, then mark them Byes or Leg byes in the row under the keys. They move out of the batter’s runs and the bowler’s figures.
Does the app track free hits?
It marks the ball after a no-ball as a Free hit, and carries the mark over a wide. Whether a wicket stands on it is the umpire’s call, so score the ball as it happened.
What else it does for you
- One live linkFreeSend one read-only link to the group. It updates live, and nobody needs an app or an account.
- Result and fixture cardsFreeA picture of the fixture or the result, sized for a WhatsApp Status, Instagram or Facebook.
- Match reelsFreeA short video of the match, made for one team or one player with a single tap.