Possession (sports) opportunity to score. In bat-and-ball games including baseball and cricket, the ball is controlled by the fielding team, which are on defense. In several sports, possession is exchanged after the offensive team scores, or when the defensive team physically takes control of a "live" (in play) ball through a fumble, interception, or steal. In gridiron football, possession is additionally controlled through a series of allotted plays called downs, over which the offensive team must move the ball a certain distance down the field, or lose possession. Possession at the start of a game, or in a neutral restart, may be
Possession is nine-tenths of the law Possession is nine-tenths of the law Possession is nine-tenths of the law is an expression meaning that ownership is easier to maintain if one has possession of something, or difficult to enforce if one does not. The expression is also stated as "possession is nine points of the law", which is credited as derived from the Scottish expression "possession is eleven points in the law, and they say there are but twelve." Although the principle is an oversimplification, it can be restated as: "In a property dispute (whether real or personal), in the absence of clear and compelling testimony or