Wiktionary
adv. (context cricket English) Describing a way of getting out in which the batsman deliberately touches the ball with the hand not holding the bat
Wikipedia
Handled the ball is one of the ten methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. It dictates that either batsman can be given out if they intentionally touch the ball with a hand that is not holding their bat. An exception is given for if the batsman handles the ball to avoid injury. It is governed by Law 33 of the laws of cricket, and is a rare way for a batsman to be dismissed: in the history of cricket, there have been 60 instances in first-class matches and 5 occasions in List A games. In most cases this occurs when a batsman thinks that the ball is going to hit their wicket, and knocks it away from the stumps with their hand.
In international cricket, only ten dismissals have been given in this fashion; on seven occasions in Test cricket and thrice in One Day Internationals. The South African Russell Endean became the first victim of this method in international cricket when he was dismissed in a 1957 Test match against England. The most recent occurrence was in an ODI in 2015, when Chamu Chibhabha was given out against Afghanistan.
Usage examples of "handled the ball".
The Lizard ROW handled the ball as if it were a grenade, but he threw pretty straight.
He tripped opponents and he handled the ball so often that the teacher who was refereeing threatened to send him off.
The Lizard POW handled the ball as if it were a grenade, but he threw pretty straight.