GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Which runs remain after a run out compared with a caught dismissal?
Under the MCC's 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026), an ordinary Run out keeps runs completed before the wicket is fairly broken; a clean caught dismissal removes batting runs from that delivery. Penalty runs are separate, and a bowler is not credited with a Run out wicket.
For Cricket fans checking a batting total or bowling figures · Updated
A Run out keeps completed runs only
For an ordinary Run out, count the runs the batters had completed before the wicket was fairly broken. A run still being attempted at that moment is not completed, so it does not join the batting total. This scoring question is separate from the crossing rule used to decide where the not-out batter goes next.
- Runner exception: if the striker has a runner and is Run out under Law 25.6.5, runs completed by the runner and the other batter are disallowed.
A catch removes batting runs from that delivery
When a batter is dismissed, penalty runs awarded to either side stand. Apart from the specific exceptions in Law 18.8, the batting side receives no other runs from that delivery. So a run completed before a clean caught dismissal does not remain as a batting run.
Keep the dismissal label separate from the score
The MCC Law says a bowler is not credited with a wicket when the batter is dismissed Run out. That does not change the completed runs that remain on the team total.
This guide describes the MCC Laws in the 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026). No competition-specific Playing Conditions were checked, so confirm the current conditions for a particular match before applying the rule.
Two fictional deliveries, two different totals
On a valid delivery, the batters complete two runs and start a third. Before that third run is completed, a fielder fairly breaks the wicket and the umpire gives a Run out. The batting side keeps two runs; the third is unfinished, the dismissal is Run out, and the bowler receives no wicket credit. In a separate valid fictional delivery, the batters complete one run from the bat before a clean catch. That batting run is removed from the total for the delivery; any separately awarded penalty runs would stand. Both examples use the ordinary no-runner case.
Related questions
Does a crossing make an unfinished Run out run count?
No. For the score after a Run out, Law 18.8.2 counts runs completed before the wicket is fairly broken. Crossing matters to the surviving batter's end under Law 18.12, not to whether an unfinished run is scored.
Are penalty runs removed when a batter is dismissed?
Law 18.8 says penalty runs awarded to either side stand when a batter is dismissed. They are accounted for separately from batting runs.