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UMPIRE SIGNALS  You're Out! There are many ways to get out in cricket, but there's only one signal and as soon as that finger goes up, the batsman's got to go. Some umpires take the time to think about his decision whilst others act instictively and tend to give batsmen out fairly quickly, but the raising of the dreaded index finger means that the batsman has to leave the crease.
The batsman is not allowed to show any sign of dissent. If he does, he can be sited by the umpire, in bigger matches, the referee would come in to play and dish out punishment if he sees fit.
Players don't only have a responsibility to the team they are playing for; they have a tremendous responsibility to everyone who is watching the game. They must make sure this game is played properly and will last for future generations.
 Four The boundary four is signalled by waving an arm from side to side, finishing with the arm across the chest. Each individual umpire has his own way of signalling a four. They all vary slightly - they all got our own idiosyncracies.
For any boundary incident, such as the issue of whether a four has been scored, an umpire can call for a TV replay and get an adjudication from the third umpire if required. If there are no television cameras present, they have to rely on the integrity of the fielder, really. The umpire may ask the fielder and hope he is an honest boy who will give us a truthful answer. That's how it used to be anyway! Not being honest is like cheating on a golf score!
 Six
The six is, of course, signalled when the ball has cleared the boundary and the umpire raises both hands above his head.
Some umpires might give his fingers a bit of a waggle. Others may raise three fingers on each hand to further signal the six, or perhaps all five on one hand and one on the other.
Hopefully everyone enjoys watching a good six, except the fielding captain and bowler concerned!
As with the four, umpires are entitled to call upon a TV replay if we aren't sure if the ball has cleared the ropes.
 Bye A bye is called when a legal delivery passes the stumps without the ball touching either the bat or the batsman's body and runs are taken.
The number of byes scored obviously depends on the number of runs taken.
The signal is one arm stretched high above the body.
 Leg Bye
Umpires signal a leg bye with a hand touching their raised knee and this is scored when the ball hits the body of the batsman but not the bat and runs are taken.
The ball does not necessarily have to touch the leg to be called a leg bye - it can be any part of the body, except the hand holding the bat (the hand/glove is considered to be part of the bat).
 One short
This would be called when a batsman is running two or more runs, but in taking one of the run did not touch his bat or body behind the batting crease on one of the turns.
Knocking a run off the score is signalled by touching one shoulder with the hand of the same arm.
 Wide A wide is called with both arms outstretched when the delivery is out of the reach of the batsman and he is unable to play a correct cricket shot.
In the one-day game, the range of the wides tends to be narrowed, particularly down the leg side. This is done to encourage the bowlers to bowl straighter and to make it more entertaining for the crowd. It's important that the batsman can have a fair shot at it (umpires injunior cricket tend to be a bit more lenient with wides).
The penalty is one run, with another delivery added to that over.
 No-ball
A 'no ball' is called if a bowler has over-stepped the popping crease and this is signalled by an arm raised at shoulder height.
There are several types of no ball. The most common one is the foot-fault, though having the back foot wider than the return crease would also result in a no-ball.
If a bowler bowls too many intimidating deliveries in one over, he can also be no-balled.
In junior cricket, a full toss above the belt line or a bouncer coming through higher than shoulder hight would also be a no ball.
 Dead Ball
The dead ball is called when someone is injured and either the players or the umpire require medical attention.
Umpires would make the same signal if a batsman steps away from his crease when he is not ready to receive the delivery.
The signal for a dead ball is the crossing of the wrists below the knee and the delivery should recommence without the original one counting.
 Penalty Runs
A revision of the laws was made 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.
Penalty runs 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.
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.
 Cancel Call
If the umpire wishes to alter a decision that had been made, he can cancel the call by touching each shoulder with the opposite hand.
It doesn't happen very often as it means a mistake has been made, but as umpires are only human, they seldom admit to having made a mistake!
 New Ball
In Test cricket, the fielding side may request a new ball after it has been in use for 80 overs.
The batsmen would be informed and the umpire would indicate the new ball to the scorers by raising it for them to see.
The new ball usually brings the quicker bowlers back on and the whole pace of the game would change with them.
The ball does get wear and tear and if it becomes ragged or out of shape in fair circumstances, we would replace it with a ball which had been used for the same number of overs.
 TV Replay
This is a fairly recent innovation and umpires are now able to refer more decisions to the third umpire than in the past. The third umpire is called upon to look at television replays by a field umpire signalling a square mime of a TV screen.
Run outs, stumpings, doubtful catches and boundary issues can all be passed on and this has been a great help with crucial decisions.
Because umpires are only human, it is not always possible to make perfect decisions, so anything that helps umpires to get a higher percentage of decisions correct must be good for cricket. The players deserve those correct decisions, as does the game itself, and television has proved it can be put to good use.
Umpires are not able to refer things like LBW decisions - not yet anyway.
 Quirks
A lot of people are quite familiar with one of cricket' superstitions, being that it helps standing on one leg when the score reaches 111. We call it The Nelson, which you would also get with other multiples like 222 and 333.
Some people believe that the only way to counteract something bad happening on a Nelson number is to get your feet off the ground. You could just lift your feet off the pavilion floor if you weren't in the middle, but the umpire (being on the field of play) will sometimes just jump or hop!
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