Retired (cricket)
In cricket, a batsman may retire from his innings any time when the ball is dead and be replaced by a teammate who is yet to be dismissed. It is most common for this to occur if the batsman is injured or unwell, in which case they have the option to resume their innings later. This is covered by Law 25 of the Laws of Cricket.[1]
Law 25 distinguishes between two types of retirement. If the batsman is ill or injured they are considered "retired - not out" and may be able to return to batting if they recover by the end of the innings. A batsman can also elect be "retired out" but in this case they may not return to the innings unless the opposing captain consents to this. These types of retirement are considered differently in Cricket statistics.
Retired - not out
If a batsman is injured or falls ill (or has some other unavoidable reason for leaving the field) while batting, he may retire and resume his innings at the dismissal or retirement of another batsman. If he cannot return by the end of the innings, the batting side must close its innings after all other batsmen are dismissed (excluding the not-out batsman). This can occur if the batsman requires medical attention away from the ground. It is therefore possible for the side batting last in a match to lose despite only losing nine (or potentially fewer) wickets. If the batsman is unable to resume their innings they are recorded as "Retired - not out".
The term "retired - hurt" has been used but is not in accordance with the Laws of Cricket (particularly Law 25[1]).
Retired out
In cricket, a batsman retires out if he retires without the umpire's permission and does not have the permission of the opposing captain to resume his innings. If such a return does not occur, the batman is marked as "retired out" and this is considered a dismissal for the purposes of calculating a batting average.
As of 2019, only two batsmen have retired out in a Test match, and both instances occurred in the same innings: Sri Lankan batsmen Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene.[2]
An exception to this rule was made for Gordon Greenidge who retired from the fifth Test of the 1982–83 India–West Indies series to visit his dying daughter. As a mark of respect, his total of 154 was officially recorded as "retired not out".[3][4]
References
- "Law 25 – Batsman's Innings; Runners". MCC. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- Cricinfo scorecard 2nd Test Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh at Colombo 6–10 September 2001
- "April 30, 1983: Gordon Greenidge and the 'Tragic Century'". News18. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- "Born to keep". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 May 2018.