Wide balls in cricket are basically unfair deliveries from the bowler's perspective. The umpire calls a wide if the ball lands too far away from the batsman for them to attempt a normal cricket shot. There are two main scenarios for a wide:
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Wide on the Leg Side: Imagine the batsman standing in their usual batting position. If the bowler throws the ball way outside that leg side (towards the side leg pad), and even if the batsman tries to move across the crease (the pitch between the wickets) to reach it, they still wouldn't be able to play a proper shot, the umpire calls a wide.
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Too High to Play: If the bowler delivers a ball that goes way above the batsman's shoulders, even with their arms raised, it's simply too high for them to hit safely. The umpire again calls a wide.
Here's some additional clarification on wides:
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The umpire considers the batsman's normal stance when judging if the ball is a wide. If the batsman makes a big movement to try and reach a ball that otherwise wouldn't be wide, it doesn't count as a wide.
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If the ball, even though bowled wide, somehow hits the batsman or the bat, it's not a wide.
Penalty for a Wide Ball:
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The batting team gets one extra run added to their score. This extra run doesn't count towards the individual batsman's score.
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If the wicket-keeper misses the wide ball completely, the batsmen can try to run more than one extra run. These additional runs are separate from the wide penalty and are counted as byes.
Umpire's Signal:
If the umpire decides it's a wide, they'll raise one arm above their head with the palm facing outwards.
