How do I score boundaries and overthrows?

Boundaries (Law 19.7)

• 6: only if the ball was hit by the bat and first lands beyond the boundary without touching the ground inside it, even if it touched a fielder first.
• 4: if the ball reaches the boundary after landing inside it, or if it wasn't hit by the bat (for example 4 byes or 4 leg byes).
• The batting side gets whichever is greater: the boundary allowance, or the runs the batters had completed plus the run in progress if they had already crossed.
• Penalty runs are not affected by a boundary.

Overthrows and wilful acts (Law 19.8)
If the boundary comes from an overthrow or a fielder's wilful act, score:

• any penalty runs, plus
• the boundary allowance, plus
• the runs completed at the instant of the throw (or act), and the run in progress if the batters had crossed by then.

The 2026 Laws define an overthrow as the ball crossing the boundary after a fielder directs it towards the wickets to run a batter out or stop runs. It is not an overthrow if the ball crosses the boundary because a fielder was trying to stop it, or was passing it a short distance to a team-mate near the boundary; then only the normal boundary rule applies.