If the ball is in play and touches the boundary or the ground outside of the field, then it is worth at least four runs, and the ball becomes dead (no longer in play). If the ball was hit by the batter, and didn't touch the ground in the field before or when it became dead, then it is worth six runs. If a fielder throws the ball at the boundary or the ground beyond the boundary, then four runs are scored as "overthrows" in addition to any runs the batters had already scored by running.