These are the number of overs he bowled, how many of those were maiden overs (i.e.

The bowling figures are given for each player who bowled during the innings. Finally there will be the team’s total score. penalty runs accruing to the team but not to any individual batsman), which may be broken down into byes, leg byes, no balls and wides. In addition there will be a line for extras (i.e. They may also list how many balls he faced, how long he batted for, how many fours and sixes he hit, and his strike rate (runs per 100 balls). They will say if and how he was out, which bowler and/or fielder was responsible for getting him out, and how many runs he scored. The batting figures tell you what happened to each batsman during the innings. The ScorecardĬricket coverage in newspapers and on web sites will generally include a scorecard that is made up of three elements: batting figures, bowling figures, and fall of wickets. If you then want to know what went on in the game, you need to read the scorecard. As I explained in the first article in this series, victories are reported either as by a number of runs (if you win by bowling your opponents out), or by a number of wickets (if you win by exceeding their score while batting). In a 50-over match, 236-5 is a promising position if you have 10 overs left to bat, but not so good if that is your final score.Īs a final complication, this type of scoring reporting is not used in explaining who won a game. On the other hand, if you are in the fifth day, are 236-5 in your second innings, and need only another 17 runs for victory, you are doing very well thank you. Has the other side batted yet? If so, how many runs did they get? Is it a one-innings match or two? Is the game limited as to the number of overs that can be bowled? In a 5-day test match 236-5 in your first innings is an OK performance not great, but it will do. Is that good or bad? Well, it depends on the state of the game. So one team has 236 runs and has lost 5 wickets. With a baseball score of 5-2 it is very clear which team is on top, but if you follow cricket you have to work things out for yourself. Note immediately that this is different from just about any other sport in the world, because it does not tell you who is winning. (Australians, because they live upside down, will write the same score as 5-236). A cricket score is generally expressed in the form of 236-5, meaning that the team batting has 236 runs and has lost 5 wickets.

The most important thing is, of course, the overall score in the game. But, just as not everyone who follows baseball knows how to read a box score, the numbers pumped out by cricket commentators have a jargon of their own and need a little explanation at times. It is also a game with a long history, and much time is spent talking about great players of the past. Like baseball (and gridiron), cricket is a game that is obsessed with statistics.

Scoring systems in cricket