In cricket, how many legal balls are there in a standard over?
VerifiedAnswer: Six
Explanation:
In cricket, a standard over consists of six legal balls bowled by one bowler from one end of the pitch. This fundamental rule applies across all major formats of cricket including Test matches, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 (T20) matches.
The key word here is "legal" balls. This means that only properly bowled deliveries count towards completing an over. If a bowler delivers a wide ball, no-ball, or any other illegal delivery, that particular ball doesn't count as one of the six required balls. Instead, the bowler must bowl an additional legal delivery to replace the illegal one, plus the batting team receives penalty runs.
After completing six legal balls, the over ends and several things happen: the bowler must change (the same bowler cannot bowl consecutive overs), the field positions switch to the opposite end, and a different bowler starts the next over from the other end of the pitch. This system ensures fair play and prevents any single bowler from dominating continuously from one end.
Historically, cricket has experimented with different numbers of balls per over. In the early days of cricket, overs consisted of four balls, and later some matches used eight-ball overs, particularly in Australia. However, since 1979/80, the international standard has been firmly established at six balls per over, which provides the perfect balance between giving bowlers enough opportunities to build pressure while allowing batsmen reasonable chances to score runs and rotate the strike.
