SIGNALLING FOR PENALTY RUNS

A revision of the laws came in two years ago 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 is 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.