In the sport of cricket, an appeal is the act of a player on the fielding team asking an umpire for a decision regarding whether a batsman is out or not. According to the Laws of Cricket, an umpire may not rule a batsman out unless the fielding side appeals. There have been occasions when a batsman has otherwise technically been out, but the fielding team neglected to appeal, and the umpire did not rule him out. For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball or running the batsman... An umpire in cricket (from the Old French Nompere meaning not equal, i. ... Cricket batsman A batsman in the sport of cricket is, depending on context: Any player in the act of batting. ... The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club which serve to standardise the format of cricket matches across the world to ensure uniformity and fairness. ...

According to the Laws of Cricket, an appeal is a verbal query of the form "How's that?" to an umpire. Since the taking of a wicket is an important event in the game, members of the fielding team often shout this phrase with great enthusiasm, and it has transmuted into the slightly abbreviated form, "Howzat?" often with a greatly extended final syllable. However, recently in international cricket cricketers even actually dance on the field as part of their appeal. Some players have established their own trademark appeals as well (such as Shoaib Akhtar's airplane and Kevin Pietersen's chicken wing among others). Occasionally, when a bowler gets a batsman out, he may do the batsman's trademark appeal as a form of celebration but moreover a slight intimidation. In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings: // Meanings of wicket Each wicket consists of three stumps, upright wooden poles that are hammered into the ground, topped with two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails. ... Shoaib Akhtar (Urdu: شعیب اختر) (born August 13, 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricket player, widely recognized as one of the fastest bowlers in the world, earning him the name Rawalpindi Express. ... Kevin Peter Pietersen MBE (born 27 June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa) is a cricketer, an attacking right-handed batsman and occasional off-spin bowler who plays for England and Hampshire. ...

Although technically an appeal is required for the umpire to make a decision, in practice it is often obvious to all that a batsman is out, and the batsman will walk off the field without waiting for the decision of the umpire. This is invariably the case when a batsman is out bowled or to an obvious catch. However, the batsman is always entitled to stand his ground and wait for a decision from the umpire. In cases where he considers he might not be out, such as a catch taken low near the grass or where it is not clear if the ball hit the bat, batsmen will take this option. It is then up to the fielding team to appeal for a decision. Sometimes a batsman will walk even when it is not clear to others that he is out, if in his own mind he is certain he was out; this is considered to be the epitome of sportsmanlike behaviour. It is sporting to shake the hand of ones opponent after the end of a game. ...

Some decisions, such as leg before wicket, always require an appeal and the umpire's decision, as no batsman will pre-empt the umpire on what requires fine judgment of several factors. Run outs and stumpings are usually appealed and decided by an umpire, unless the batsman is clearly out of his ground and obviously out. Appealing differs vastly from sledging in the context that appealing is not supposed to be offensive or directly taunting to the other team, and more of a celebration to the appealing team. Similarly, excessive appealing is against ICC's Code of Conduct (see below). In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket (LBW) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

Under the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct, it is considered unsportsmanlike to: The ICC Cricket Code of Conduct is a regulation regarding the conduct of professional players in the sport of cricket. ...

• appeal excessively;
• appeal in an intimidating manner towards an umpire; or
• appeal under the knowledge that the batsman is not out.

Any instances of such behaviour are punishable by fines or match bans, as adjudicated and imposed by the match referee. A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. ...

See also

• Appeal play - a similar usage in baseball
• Cricket terminology