The rules on balls which reach the batter in a high position depend on whether the ball bounced first and how high it arrives. This can lead to penalty runs and in some cases the bowler being banned from further bowling.
The rules on allowable heights of the ball are relative to the body of the specific batter, but are based on where they would be during a normal stance when receiving a ball. This means a batter can’t deliberately duck or kneel to make a delivery against the rules.
If the ball is above head height when it reaches the bowler, it is automatically classed as a no ball. This concedes a run penalty of either one or two depending on the competition. However, in some competitions, a ball above head height will be classed as a wide, which always concedes a one run penalty. Neither a no ball nor a wide counts as as one of the six deliveries in an over, meaning the bowler must bowl an extra ball.
If the ball bounces and then arrives above shoulder height but below head height, it’s considered a “bouncer”. Such a delivery is legal by default, but many competitions have a rule that limit a bowler to either one or two bouncers per over. Any bouncers after this limit are classed as no balls.
A ball that does not bounce and arrives above waist height is known as a “beamer”. Such a delivery is automatically a no ball, regardless of the bowler’s intent.
The rules mentioned above are all about whether a delivery is classed as fair or unfair. This is different to whether a delivery is classed as dangerous. Such deliveries include:
- Any beamer.
- A bouncer, depending on the speed of the delivery and the skill of the batsman. (Deliberately bowling fast bouncers at a non-specialist batter could be classed as dangerous.)
The umpire has the right to bar a player from bowling for the rest of the game if they continue to use dangerous deliveries after a warning. A player is usually barred immediately, with no warning, if the umpire believes a dangerous delivery was intentional.