When you are watching a cricket match, you have rarely seen that umpire was warning a player by signaling something wrong with the pitch. Especially a batter or bowler run precisely middle of the pitch between the wickets. That means when a batsman is taking a run or a bowler follow-through, he enters into an area protected on a cricket pitch. So that protected area is known as the Danger area in cricket. But where did this danger area placed on the cricket pitch? How to find it? And why are players not allowed to run or walk in that Danger area in cricket? What happens if a player enters into that Danger area in cricket?
What Is Danger Area In Cricket?
The area present precisely in the middle of the cricket pitch is known as Danger Area In Cricket. It was located stringently between the wickets. When it comes to dimensions of the Danger area in cricket, it is well placed 5 feet away from the popping crease on both sides of the pitch, which means 5 feet from the bowling end and 5 feet from the batting end.
In general, the cricket pitch is 66 feet long. So if you subtract five feet from both sides of the pitch, then the length of this Danger Area in cricket is 56 feet long. When it comes to the width of the danger area in cricket, it has stretched up to 2 feet. So finally, the dimensions of the danger area are 56*2 feet.
What Happens If A Players Enters Into This Danger Area Repeatedly?
The umpire warns if a bowler enters this area by mistake in his follow-through after throwing the ball. Also, a notice will be given to the batsman if he enters this Danger Area in cricket while taking a run. But if a player repeats the same mistake even after a warning, his team will be fined a five-run penalty. It means that the opposing team will get five runs for free. Here are some examples.
Example 1
We all know about that famous incident that has happened in a test match between India and New Zealand on 9th October 2016. Team India’s well-known all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was punished by an umpire when he did something wrong with running on the pitch. When India was on 543/5, Jadeja tried to steal a single in Trent Boult bowling. But while doing this, he ran precisely middle of the pitch that caused him trouble.
He did the same thing once before in that innings and received a warning from the on-field umpire. But when Jadeja received the second warning from umpire Bruce Oxenford, he penalized five runs, and that single hasn’t counted into the India scorecard. Also, those five penalty runs added to New Zealand’s tally. So running on the Danger area in cricket will cause problems to both the batsman and his team.
Example 2
It was a similar kind of Jadeja incident when Australia’s two most noticeable test match batsmen, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne, entered into this danger area twice in a test match between Australia and New Zealand in 2020. The first time, they have warned by the on-field umpire. But even after receiving the first warning, they again stepped into the Danger area in cricket. With that, the on-field umpires have decided to penalize both the batsman and the Australian team; as a result, five free runs are added to New Zealand’s scorecard before they face the first ball.
However, if the player repeats the same act, he will be suspended from the match. That means the suspended player is not allowed to bowl or bat until the end of that particular match. Isn’t that a harsh rule? And if there is such a strict rule, there must be some significant reason behind it. So let’s find what happens if a player damages this danger area with his spikes.
Why Are Players Not Allowed To Walk/Run On Danger Area?
In general, the cricketers use long spikes, and those can grip the ground quickly and give players an excellent balance while running on the cricket ground. But Running on the cricket pitch with these spikes will damage the pitch. Due to this, we have frequently seen bowler footmarks on both sides of the pitch. So when compared the cricket pitch with the outfield, the pitch has some brittleness, which tends to crack when a player runs with spikes. Everybody knows if a pitch has many cracks, it benefits the bowler bowling from the other end. That is how the ball swings or spins more after pitching.
In Test cricket, we all know about this very well. From day 4, there will be visible cracks on the cricket pitch where the batsman has leg and offside. The pace bowlers damaged this entire area with their spikes in the follow-through while they were bowling from that end. Now it’s lead to damage to the pitch, and cracks have appeared on both sides of the batsman.
Now, if a spin bowler came and pitched the ball over these cracks, he would get a massive turn that bowler would not know how much it would turn. It means there are always challenging conditions for a batter to bat. So this was one of the main reasons the batter had faced more difficulties when he was batting on Day 4 and Day 5 pitch.
Now imagine for a second if the same cracks were in the middle of the pitch. It would be a horrible situation for any batsman. Whether it was Virat Kohli or Don Bradman, they would not like to bat because the pitch becomes unplayable. Once the ball hits the pitch, the god only knows what it will do for the batsman. So it isn’t easy for the batsman to defend his wicket. That is why you should not walk in this Danger area in cricket. Even fielders also jump over this Danger area while crossing the pitch.
Why This Rule Applied To Both Batting And Fielding Teams?
However, there was colossal doubt come into all of your cricket minds. So walking on the Danger area in cricket mostly favors the bowler and bowling team. But why is this rule also applied for batters and the batting team?
Once in a while, the cricket pitch is more grassy and complements the fast bowling perfectly. It means the cricket pitch top layer has to stick together firmly because of this grass. So if the batsman runs in this Danger area, the pitch will lose its stickiness and become easy for batting. Also, it will be difficult for the next team to bat if the batsman does this while batting first. So no batter, bowler, or fielder should enter this Danger area in cricket.