If a wide ball runs away to the boundary, it's considered as 5 wides, rather than 1 wide plus 4 byes. Is there a reason for this breakdown of the extra runs?
The question is "whose fault is it"? Wides are considered to be the bowler's fault, and are scored as runs conceded by the bowler. On the other hand, byes are considered to be the wicket-keeper's fault and not scored as runs conceded by the bowler. The typical case for 5 wides is a ball either so wide or so high that the keeper doesn't have a reasonable chance to stop it, so it's reasonable that these are debited to the bowler.
answered Mar 15 '15 at 22:36
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To add to the answer, a bye/leg bye is given only if the batsman tried to play a shot. But a wide is given even if the batsman leaves the ball to go it to the keeper. – Renjith Mar 18 '15 at 12:18
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2That's correct for leg byes, but incorrect for byes - there's no requirement to play a shot. Please see Law 26. – Philip Kendall♦ Mar 18 '15 at 12:20
