A wide ball is one that, in the opinion of the umpire, is not within reach of the striker. It therefore does not make the slightest difference where it pitches so long as, in the umpire’s opinion, it has _never been_ within the batsman’s reach. Some people entertain the idea that if a ball has pitched fairly straight but afterwards twisted beyond the batsman’s reach, it should not be called wide; but this is wrong, as the rule says positively that ‘if it is not within reach of the striker, the umpire shall call “wide ball.”’ It is often a very nice point as to what is or is not within reach of the striker, and umpires’ opinions vary on this head. We think the true reading of the rule is that, on the off side, the batsman’s reach should not be limited to what he can only reach when standing still in his original position, but should be extended to what he can conveniently and comfortably reach with either leg across his wicket, say for ‘cutting’ or ‘off driving.’ On the leg side we think a ball should be called ‘wide’ if the batsman in the ordinary swing of the arms and bat for a leg hit could not reach it.[32] It thus follows, that a ball may be a ‘wide’ on the leg side which would not be one if at an equal distance from the batsman on the off side. If the ball passes so high over the batsman as to be out of his reach, it is a ‘wide.’ This very rarely occurs, but umpires should remember that if the batsman can touch this ball by holding the bat in the air, it is not a ‘wide.’ It does not follow that it is a ‘wide’ because the ball goes over the head of the batsman without being played at--most batsmen refuse to strike at such a ball because of the attendant risk--but it must be so high that the batsman cannot reach it when holding the bat in the usual manner. When the bowler is bowling round the wicket the umpire should stand exactly in the same place as he does for ‘over the wicket’ bowling, but should of course front the bowler’s side of the wicket. He should be watchful to see that the bowler keeps within the limit of the return crease; if he touches this with his hindmost foot, it is a ‘no ball’ and should be instantly ‘called.’ Round-the-wicket bowlers often have a tendency to bowl as far as possible round the wicket, and as this is done with the object of making their bowling more difficult, umpires should be careful to keep them within the prescribed limits. There is rather a slackness in many umpires about calling ‘no ball’ because the return crease is touched; but they ought to be quite as particular in this respect as in the case of the bowling crease--in fact, even more so, as a ball delivered an extra inch from the line between wicket and wicket makes more difference to the batsman than one delivered an inch nearer than usual.