Index

Declaration, declared


The captain of a batting side may declare his team's innings closed - in other words end it - at any time, providing the ball is dead at the moment he does so. There are no circumstances in which a captain is obliged to declare.
Declarations are usually made when the captain feels that his team has scored enough runs for them to be able to put pressure on the other side when they bat, or as an attempt to achieve a result, in circumstances when time is running out in the match.

Sometimes a declaration can go disastrously awry; the captain who declares at the wrong moment and ends up on the losing side is unlikely to be popular with his team!

A declaration is entered in the scorebook for example England 345 for 6 wickets declared or dec..