Why can one cricket hit score 4 or 6 runs?

KohakuIn cricket, a single hit can score 4 or 6 runs, they say. I wonder why that is.

The answer in 30 seconds

First, let me give you the answer in 30 seconds.

By the Laws of Cricket, when a batter's hit reaches the boundary, a set number of runs is scored without running. If the ball first lands inside the boundary and then goes over, it is 4. If it goes over without touching the ground, it is 6.

A cricket match on a wide green field, with a white boundary line in the foreground — There is a boundary (a rope or a white line) around the field, and a ball that reaches it scores runs.Photo: Acabashi / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Reaching the boundary scores runs

In cricket, batters normally score by hitting the ball and running. But there is a boundary around the edge of the field, and if a hit reaches it, runs are scored without running. Under the Laws of Cricket, which are written by the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), the boundary is marked wherever practicable by a continuous white line or an object in contact with the ground.

4 runs: after touching the ground first

If the ball touches the ground and then crosses the boundary, it is 4 runs. The Laws say that if the ball lands beyond the boundary but first landed inside it, 4 runs are scored. It makes no difference whether the ball rolled to the boundary or bounced over it. If a ball that the bat has not touched reaches the boundary, that is also 4 runs.

KohakuSo the runs change depending on whether the ball bounces first or flies over in the air.

6 runs: over the boundary in the air

It is 6 runs when the ball, struck by the bat, never touches the ground inside the boundary and first lands beyond it. In other words, it clears the boundary in the air. Even if a fielder touched the ball on the way, the 6 still counts.

Figure: The difference between 4 and 6

Values are set before the match

These run values are agreed before the toss by the umpires and both captains, who are guided by the custom of the ground. Unless they decide otherwise, it is 6 and 4. And if the batters have actually run more than that, they are given the greater number of runs.

Want to know more?

When the boundary is a white line, the edge of the line nearest the pitch (the inside of the field) is the boundary.
A flag, post or board placed only to show where a line is must stand outside the line, and is not itself the boundary.
Even under the 1980 Laws, a boundary was normally 4 runs, and a hit that landed fully over the boundary was 6.

KohakuThe runs depend on where the ball first touches the ground. Watching a match will be even more fun next time.

Quick quiz: test yourself

When does a hit score 6 in cricket?

Show the answer

It rolls to the boundary
It clears the boundary in the air
It bounces once, then crosses

It clears the boundary in the air A 6 needs the ball, struck by the bat, to land first beyond the boundary without touching the ground inside. Otherwise it is 4.

Sources

Law 19: BoundariesMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Laws of Cricket
Laws of Cricket 1980 Code - Law 19 BoundariesAssociation of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS)

This article was written after checking the sources above as of 2026-10-03. Explanations may change as research progresses. Photo credits are shown below each photo.