Declaration and forfeiture both end an innings, but the deciding question is whether that innings has already started. A declaration closes an innings in progress. A forfeiture ends an innings before it begins. The size of the score does not decide the classification.
The stage-based distinction
Under MCC Law 15, a captain may declare an innings closed while the ball is dead during that innings. Forfeiture applies before the innings begins. In either case, the innings is treated as completed. The captain informs the opposing captain and the umpires, and the decision cannot then be changed.
| Record | Status before decision | Classification | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Innings has begun | Declaration | Completed innings |
| B | Innings has not begun | Forfeiture | Completed innings |
Hypothetical records
Example A: Team Red has started its innings. After a delivery has become dead, its captain tells the umpires and Team Blue’s captain that the innings is closed. The score might be 0, 75, or any other figure; the evidence that matters is that play in the innings had begun and the decision was made while the ball was dead. Output: declaration.
Example B: Team Blue is listed to bat next, but no delivery has been made and its innings has not started. Its captain gives the required notification that the innings is forfeited. Even if the scorebook would show zero runs, the output is forfeiture, not declaration. The zero is a score description, not proof that the innings began.
What an incomplete record can establish
If an administrative record says only “0 runs” and omits whether a delivery was made or the innings otherwise started, classification cannot be completed from that entry alone. Do not infer declaration from a zero, or forfeiture merely because no runs are shown. The missing start-status is decisive. These explanations follow the MCC rule boundary; competition playing conditions may modify procedures or apply additional conditions.