A bye is a run scored when the ball passes the batter without touching the bat or body; a leg bye is a run scored when the ball first hits the batter’s body and the batter was playing a shot or avoiding the ball. Both are extras: they add to the team total but not to any batter’s score.
Byes
Under Law 23.1 of the MCC Laws of Cricket (2017 Code), a bye is credited when a legal delivery passes the striker without touching the bat or the person. Any runs the batters complete, or a boundary allowance, are credited to the batting side as byes. Typically the wicketkeeper misses the ball, or it beats everyone, and the batters run.
A delivery that is a wide is excluded. Wides have their own law and are scored as wides, not byes.
Leg byes
A leg bye needs the ball to first strike the striker’s person, not the bat. Law 23.2 adds a condition: the umpire must be satisfied that the striker either tried to play the ball with the bat or tried to avoid being hit. If neither is true, Law 23.3 says leg byes are not awarded, and the batters cannot keep any runs from that ball.
The body part does not matter: pad, thigh or elsewhere. If the ball afterwards touches the bat inadvertently and runs follow, the runs are credited to the striker, as the law’s wording makes clear. If the striker wilfully plays a lawful second stroke, other laws (34.3 and 34.4) apply instead.
Who is charged with them
Law 18.10.3 lists what the bowler is debited with: runs scored by the striker, no-ball extras and wides. Byes and leg byes are not on that list, so they do not count against the bowler’s figures. They appear in the extras line of the scorecard.
Byes and leg byes from a no-ball
Byes and leg byes can still be scored off a no-ball. Law 18.10.2 says that when this happens, only the one-run no-ball penalty is scored as a no-ball extra, and the remainder is recorded as byes or leg byes as appropriate. If the batter hits the ball, the runs go to the batter as usual.
A worked example
A medium-pace delivery passes the off stump, beats the batter and the wicketkeeper, and runs away to the boundary. Four byes are added to the total. The bowler’s figures show no runs against them for that ball, and the batter’s score does not change. Now suppose the next ball strikes the batter’s pad as they push forward, and they run two. As the batter was playing a shot, the umpire awards two leg byes. Had the batter deliberately kicked the ball away without trying to play it or avoid it, no runs would count.
How they appear in the scorebook
Scorers record byes as B and leg byes as LB in the extras section of the scorecard, often shown as, for example, “Extras: 4 (b 2, lb 2)”. Our guide to cricket scoring symbols and how to read a scorecard covers the notation.
Version note: this guide uses the wording of the Laws of Cricket 2017 Code. MCC has announced a fourth edition of that Code that takes effect from 1 October 2026; the clauses above should be checked against the current text if they matter for a decision.
Frequently asked questions
Are byes counted against the bowler?
No. Law 18.10.3 charges the bowler with runs off the striker, no-ball extras and wides only, so byes and leg byes are not in the bowler's figures.
When are leg byes not awarded?
Under Law 23.3, if the ball first hits the striker and the umpire decides the striker neither tried to play it with the bat nor tried to avoid it, no leg byes are given.
Can byes be scored off a no-ball?
Yes. The one-run no-ball penalty is recorded as a no-ball extra and any further runs are recorded as byes or leg byes (Law 18.10.2).