The reason must be communicated
Under the MCC 2026 code a batter can retire while the ball is dead, with the umpires informed of the reason before play proceeds. The reason is part of the rule application. A broadcast shot of a batter walking off cannot establish it on its own, even if commentary immediately suggests an injury or tactical change.
Where the reason is illness, injury or another unavoidable cause, Law 25.4.2 entitles the batter to resume. If the batter does not resume, the code records the innings as retired not out. This is different from an ordinary dismissal, and the team score should be read alongside the scorecard’s stated retirement entry.
Other retirement requires consent to resume
For a retirement outside those unavoidable causes, Law 25.4.3 makes resumption dependent on the opposing captain’s consent. If the innings is not resumed, the stated entry is retired out. A tactical retirement therefore should not be described as carrying the same unconditional return entitlement as an injury retirement.
The law does not ask a viewer to infer consent from the batter’s presence near the boundary or readiness to bat. The umpires and official match record are the useful reference points. A later return can be legitimate, but the relevant permission requirement must first have been satisfied.
A right to return is not an arbitrary restart time
Law 25.4.4 restricts a return after retirement to the fall of a wicket or another batter’s retirement, subject to the earlier conditions. A recovering batter cannot simply interrupt an otherwise continuing partnership at a chosen moment. Reason, permission and timing answer three different questions.
This guide applies the MCC 2026 code checked on 4 November 2026. Competition substitutions, replacement-player policies and concussion procedures are separate matters that require the event’s actual playing conditions. Keep the retirement announcement and final scorecard with a replay so those additional mechanisms are not guessed from an unexplained departure.