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Scoring (cricket)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How runs are scored and teams win a match








Methods of scoring

An example of a scorecard
An example of a scorecard





The ECB make free software available for cricket scoring both on PC and mobile devices from the PlayCricket website.

Detailed scoring


  • For each batsman, every scoring run made.




Scoring notation


Special notation is used in the case of extras.


Cricket Scorers' wides notation
Cricket Scorers' wides notation







The conventional notation for a no-ball is a circle. If the batsman hits the ball and takes runs, then the runs are marked inside the circle. In practice it is easier to write down the number then encircle it.




Leg byes


Match scores

Other than the information kept on a detailed scorecard, there are specific conventions for how the in-progress and overall result of a match is summarised and stated.

While an innings is in progress, the innings score comprises the number of runs scored by the batting team and the number of wickets taken by the bowling team. For example, a team that has scored 100 runs and lost three wickets is said to have a score of "one hundred for three", which is written 100–3 or 100/3. The exception is in Australia, where the order of the two numbers is switched: a spoken score of "three for one hundred" and written score of 3–100 or 3/100. Runs decide the winning and losing teams (or a draw) whereas wickets can only, if all wickets are taken, decide the match is over.

When an innings is complete:

  • If all of a team's batsmen were dismissed (or retired/absent hurt), the number of wickets taken is dropped from the written score, for example, 300, rather than 300–10; this may be spoken as simply "three hundred", or as "three hundred, all out".
  • If a team declares its innings closed despite still having able batsmen available, a d or dec is appended to the wickets in the score, for example 300-8d or 300-8dec; this would be spoken as "three hundred for eight, declared".
  • If a limited-overs innings is complete due to all overs having been faced, the progress-style score is still used, for example 275-7.

In a completed two-innings match, each team's innings scores are always written and spoken separately – the sum of the two innings scores is never written or spoken, despite the fact that it is the determining factor in who wins the match. If the match has a winner, then the winning team's score is listed first; if not, then the team which batted first is listed first. If a team has followed on in its second innings, this is indicated by appending (f/o) to its score. In this way, a finished cricket score gives enough information to describe each innings and the sequence in which they were played. The score is then usually accompanied by a statement of the result and (if applicable) margin of victory. The margin of victory can be described in four ways:

  • If the team batting last wins the game, then it wins by the number of wickets it had remaining when it passed the other team's total
  • If the team bowling last wins the game, then it wins according to how many more runs it had scored than the opponent across the entire game
  • If the team bowling last wins the game, and has only batted one innings compared to its opponent's two, then it wins by an innings and a number of runs
  • If a match is tied or drawn, but a victory or tournament advancement is awarded based on a tie-breaker rule (for example, based on the first innings leader in the knock-out portion of India's Ranji Trophy), then the tie or draw is still given as the primary match result, with the special rule appended.

Some examples of full statements of scores in two-innings matches include:

The statement of score and results is similar in a limited overs match, except that for a victory by wickets, it is also conventional to append the number of balls remaining in the team's innings – since the number of overs is often a greater constraint than remaining wickets. If the overs or targets are amended by a rain rule (typically the Duckworth-Lewis method), this is always noted in the statement of result – which is important since the official margin of a victory by runs under a rain rule may not equal the difference between the teams' actual scores. As for a two-innings match, if a tied match is decided by a tie-breaker, the score will still reflect the primary result as a tie and the tie-breaker as an appendix to the result; this is even in the case of a Super Over, the runs from which are not added to the main innings score. Examples of full statements of results from limited overs matches include:

In the statement of results for a match without a winner, there are four distinct terms which may be used: draw, tie, no result and abandoned. A tie is a match in which the game is completed and the two teams finish with the same number of runs. A draw is a two-innings match which does not reach a conclusion within its allotted time. No result is the outcome of a limited overs match which does not reach a conclusion, usually because rain prevents both teams from facing the prescribed minimum number of overs. An abandoned match is in which a ball is never bowled.

See also


  2. ^ Wagonwheel
  3. ^ Hawk-eye innovations: beehive and pitch map


  • For a comprehensive guide to the laws and their interpretation, and for guidance to scorers: Tom Smith's Cricket Umpiring and Scoring (Marylebone Cricket Club). ISBN 978-0-297-86641-1
This page was last edited on 20 November 2021, at 08:45