When does a bowl become dead?

Under law 17.1 a bowl is dead if:

• it is not a toucher and comes to rest in the ditch;
• it is not a toucher and rebounds onto the rink after contact with the face of the bank, or with the jack or a toucher in the ditch;
• after completing its original course or being moved as a result of play, it comes to rest less than 14 metres from the centre of the mat line (measured in a straight line to the nearest point of the bowl);
• it passes completely outside the boundaries of the rink after being moved as a result of play;
• in its original course, it passes outside a side boundary on a bias that prevents it re-entering the rink; or
• in its original course, it comes to rest outside a side boundary, even if in contact with the outside edge of a line jack.

A bowl is not dead (law 17.2) if it is carried by a player while inspecting the head; in its original course it comes to rest within the rink even though it passed outside a side boundary during its course; it is a toucher that rebounds from the face of the bank onto the rink; or it is a toucher that comes to rest on top of the jack or another toucher at rest in the ditch.

The skips (or opponents in Singles) decide as soon as they realise it is necessary, even if more bowls have been played since; if they cannot agree they ask the umpire. A dead bowl is removed from the rink as soon as it is declared dead.

Source: World Bowls, Laws of the Sport of Bowls Crystal Mark Fourth Edition, law 17, https://www.worldbowls.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Laws_of_the_Sport_Fourth_Edition.pdf