We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
The two boundary signals, distinguished by whether the ball bounced.
An arm sweeping across the chest is four; both arms straight above the head is six. The difference is whether the ball touched the ground before reaching the boundary.
A sweep across the body is four; both arms straight above the head is six. The difference is whether the ball bounced before the boundary.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Four signal (cricket) | Six signal (cricket) |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | people and arrows | people, lines and dots |
| Number of key elements | 4 | 6 |
| Symmetry | none | vertical |
| Four signal (cricket) | Six signal (cricket) | |
|---|---|---|
| Signal | One arm waved across the body | Both arms raised vertically |
| Runs | Four | Six |
| Did the ball bounce? | Yes, before the boundary | No — it cleared it in the air |
| Most from one legal ball? | No | Yes |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Six signal (cricket) — A sweep across the body is four; both arms straight above the head is six. The difference is whether the ball bounced before the boundary. | Commonly confused with Four signal (cricket) — Arms up is six, arm across the body is four — whether the ball bounced is the whole distinction. |
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) · retrieved 2026-08-02
MCC has been the custodian of the Laws since 1787 and publishes them openly. Authoritative for the umpire's signals, which the Laws specify individually. Scorebook notation is a separate convention and is not defined by the Laws.
Both arms sweeping forward means play continues and no kick is coming. One arm straight up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly. Confusing them changes whether players expect a stoppage.
The plain black flag excludes the competitor: their race is over. The black flag with an orange disc reports a mechanical problem that endangers others and sends the driver to the pits to have it fixed, after which they may rejoin. Both are shown with a number board, both are black, and confusing them costs a competitor a race they could have finished.
A cross means all ten pins fell to the first ball; a forward slash means it took two. The cross carries two deliveries of bonus and the slash only one, which is why three strikes are needed for a frame to reach thirty.
The exclamation mark praises a move, the question mark criticises it. Neither is defined by FIDE: unlike the rest of chess notation these are publishing convention, and two annotators may disagree about the same move.