How Many Bouncers are Allowed Per Over in Cricket?

In a game dominated by batters, bowlers must have variations in their armoury to outfox them. Bowling a bouncer delivery is a sure-shot way of unsettling a batter, making it a lethal weapon for pacers.

However, fast bowlers can’t bowl bouncers as per their will, as the governing body has put some restrictions in place.

In this article, we’ll see how many bouncers a bowler can bowl per over in cricket.

 

What is a bouncer delivery in cricket?

Any delivery that passes above the striker’s shoulders is termed a bouncer or a short-pitched delivery. These are legal deliveries, although a bowler can bowl only a limited number of bouncers per over. The number of bouncers allowed per over varies across formats.

 

How many bouncers are allowed per over in Test cricket?

In the longest format of the game, a bowler can send down 2 short-pitched deliveries in an over. The same rule applies to all First-Class matches played at the domestic level.

 

How many bouncers are allowed per over in ODI cricket?

The bouncer rules are the same in ODI cricket as in Test cricket, with bowlers permitted to bowl 2 bouncers. However, that wasn’t the case before 2012, when bowlers could bowl only one bouncer between 1994 and 2012.

 

How many bouncers are allowed per over in T20 cricket?

In the shortest format of the game, bowlers can only bowl one bouncer per over. However, since the 2024 edition, a bowler is allowed to send down 2 bouncers in an over in the Indian Premier League (IPL), boosting their firepower.

 

What happens if a bowler exceeds the bouncer limit per over?

If a bowler bowls more bouncers than the allocated number, then the on-field umpires will signal no ball for any subsequent rule breach.

The batting team will earn an extra run, with a provision for a free hit on the next delivery available in ODIs and T20Is.

 

Why is there a restriction on bowling bouncers?

Cricket’s global governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), imposed restrictions on bowling bouncers to discourage bowlers from intimidating batters by bowling short-pitched deliveries.

Thus, in 1991, the ICC enforced a ‘one bouncer per batter per over’ rule. Later, in 1994, the rule was amended, allowing bowlers to bowl 2 short-pitched deliveries per over.

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