Cricket Stats Explained: Average, Strike Rate, Economy and More

Cricket stats explained in one line: batting average is runs per dismissal, strike rate is runs per 100 balls, bowling average is runs conceded per wicket, bowling strike rate is balls per wicket, and economy rate is runs conceded per over. Those five numbers tell you most of what you need to know about a player, and each one matters more or less depending on the format.

The trick is knowing what each number rewards, what it hides and how to compare players fairly. A Test opener and a T20 finisher can both be brilliant with completely different figures. This guide covers how every major stat is calculated, what counts as good, and the traps that catch out even keen fans.

Key facts

• Batting average = runs scored divided by times dismissed. Not-outs don’t count as dismissals.
• Batting strike rate = runs divided by balls faced, multiplied by 100.
• Bowling average = runs conceded divided by wickets taken. Lower is better.
• Bowling strike rate = balls bowled divided by wickets taken. Lower is better.
• Economy rate = runs conceded divided by overs bowled. Lower is better.
• Don Bradman’s Test batting average of 99.94 remains the most famous number in the sport.

Cricket stats explained: the core numbers at a glance

Stat	Formula	Better when	Matters most in
Batting average	Runs ÷ dismissals	Higher	Tests and ODIs
Batting strike rate	(Runs ÷ balls) × 100	Higher	T20 and ODIs
Bowling average	Runs conceded ÷ wickets	Lower	Tests and ODIs
Bowling strike rate	Balls bowled ÷ wickets	Lower	Tests
Economy rate	Runs conceded ÷ overs	Lower	T20 and ODIs
Net run rate	Runs per over scored minus runs per over conceded	Higher	Tournament tables

Batting average

The batting average is the oldest and most quoted number in cricket. Take a player’s total runs and divide by the number of times they’ve been out. A batter with 5,000 runs who has been dismissed 100 times averages 50.

The detail that surprises people is that it’s dismissals, not innings. If a batter makes 30 not out, they get the 30 runs added to their total but the innings isn’t counted as a dismissal. That’s why a player can have an average higher than their highest score, or average 60 from three innings in which they never passed 50.

What counts as a good batting average

Context is everything. As a rough guide in men’s international cricket, a Test average above 40 is very good and above 50 marks an all-time great. In ODIs the bar is similar, though modern batting conditions have pushed it up. In T20 cricket, averages are much lower because batters are expected to take risks, and an average around 30 with a high strike rate is excellent.

Bradman’s 99.94

Don Bradman finished his Test career with 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94. He needed just four runs in his final innings, at The Oval in 1948, to finish on exactly 100, and was bowled second ball for nought by Eric Hollies. No one with a long Test career has come close since. Most of the very best batters in history have averaged somewhere in the 50s.

The not-out effect

Because not-outs don’t count as dismissals, batters who often finish innings unbeaten can have inflated averages. That’s why finishers in one-day cricket, like Michael Bevan for Australia and MS Dhoni for India, ended their ODI careers with averages that ranked among the very best, despite batting lower down. It wasn’t a flaw in their game, it was the job. But it does mean you need to look at how many not-outs sit behind an average.

Batting strike rate

Strike rate measures scoring speed: runs per 100 balls faced. A batter who scores 60 off 40 balls has a strike rate of 150.

In Test cricket it’s a secondary number, because there’s no limit on overs and survival comes first. In white-ball cricket it can matter as much as the average. A T20 batter averaging 40 at a strike rate of 115 may actually be hurting their side, because they’re using up balls that a quicker scorer could turn into runs.

Good strike rates by format

• Tests: around 50 is typical for a top-order batter, and anything above 70 is aggressive.
• ODIs: around 90 is solid, and above 100 is attacking.
• T20s: around 130 is the minimum for a top-order batter in most teams, and above 150 is explosive.

Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out against Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup is a perfect example of strike rate and average in harmony: a double century from 128 balls, scored while batting with cramp, to win a match Australia looked certain to lose. Watch it on our Maxwell 201 highlights page.

Balls faced and wides

Wides don’t count as balls faced, but no-balls do. A batter who faces a no-ball and blocks it has used a ball, even though the bowler must bowl it again.

Bowling average

The bowling average is runs conceded divided by wickets taken. A bowler who has conceded 2,500 runs and taken 100 wickets averages 25. Lower is better, because it means each wicket cost fewer runs.

Only runs charged to the bowler count. That includes runs off the bat, wides and no-balls, but not byes or leg byes, which are put down to the fielding side as a whole.

What counts as a good bowling average

In Test cricket, an average under 30 is very good, and under 25 puts a bowler among the greats. The best fast bowlers of the modern era tend to sit in the low 20s. In ODIs, under 30 is still excellent. In T20s, averages vary more because wickets come from batters taking risks, so economy rate often tells you more.

Bowling strike rate

Bowling strike rate is how many balls a bowler needs, on average, to take a wicket. Divide balls bowled by wickets taken. A bowler with 100 wickets from 5,000 balls has a strike rate of 50, meaning a wicket roughly every eight overs.

It’s especially useful in Test cricket, where taking 20 wickets wins matches. A bowler with a slightly higher average but a much lower strike rate may be more valuable, because they give their side more time to bowl the opposition out twice.

Don’t confuse it with batting strike rate. The name is the same, but one is runs per 100 balls and the other is balls per wicket. For bowlers, lower is better.

Economy rate

Economy rate is runs conceded per over. A bowler who concedes 32 runs in four overs has an economy of 8.00.

When working it out, remember that partial overs are written in balls, not decimals. 3.3 overs means three overs and three balls, which is 3.5 overs in maths terms. Divide by 3.5, not 3.3.

Good economy rates by format

• Tests: under 3 runs an over is tight, though modern Test scoring rates have risen.
• ODIs: under 5 is excellent and under 6 is good.
• T20s: under 7 is excellent and under 8 is good, especially for bowlers who bowl in the powerplay or at the death.

In T20 cricket, economy can matter more than wickets. A bowler who takes no wickets in four overs but concedes 18 has often done a better job than one who takes two wickets for 45.

Other cricket statistics worth knowing

Milestones: fifties, hundreds and five-fors

Batters are often judged by their count of fifties and hundreds. A fifty is any score from 50 to 99, so a player’s fifties don’t include their hundreds. Bowlers are judged by five-wicket hauls, often called five-fors, and ten-wicket hauls in a match. Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international hundreds and Muttiah Muralitharan’s 800 Test wickets are the milestone numbers most fans know.

Best figures

Best bowling in an innings (BBI) and best in a match (BBM) are written wickets-runs, such as 10-74. That was Anil Kumble’s famous return against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999, only the second time a bowler had taken all ten wickets in a Test innings, after Jim Laker in 1956. Laker’s match figures of 19 for 90 at Old Trafford that year remain the best in Test history. When comparing best figures, more wickets beat fewer, and for the same number of wickets, fewer runs is better.

Highest score and HS

HS on a stats table means highest score, with an asterisk if it was not out. Brian Lara holds the Test record with 400 not out against England in Antigua in 2004, and the first-class record with 501 not out for Warwickshire in 1994.

Dot ball percentage and boundary percentage

These are white-ball stats that have grown with data analysis. Dot ball percentage shows how often a bowler stops the batter scoring, or how often a batter fails to score. Boundary percentage shows how many of a batter’s runs come from fours and sixes. Teams use them to judge pressure and risk, especially in T20 leagues like the IPL.

Fielding stats

Catches are counted for every fielder, and wicketkeepers add stumpings. A keeper’s total of “dismissals” is catches plus stumpings. Run outs are tracked by some data providers but aren’t part of the traditional fielding record.

Judging all-rounders

All-rounders are harder to sum up because they contribute twice. A common rule of thumb is to subtract the bowling average from the batting average. If the result is positive, the player scores more runs per dismissal than they concede per wicket, which is a sign of a genuinely valuable all-rounder. Garry Sobers, Jacques Kallis and Imran Khan all fall comfortably on the right side of that line in Test cricket. It’s a rough measure, since it ignores how often a player bowls, but it’s a handy starting point.

Team stats: run rates and net run rate

Current and required run rate

The current run rate is the team’s runs divided by overs so far. The required run rate, shown during a chase, is runs needed divided by overs remaining. Watch any close T20 chase and you’ll see these two numbers dominate the graphics.

Net run rate

Net run rate, or NRR, separates teams level on points in tournament tables. It’s a team’s runs per over across the competition minus the runs per over scored against it. If a team is bowled out before its overs are up, it’s treated as having used its full quota of overs, which punishes collapses. NRR has decided countless IPL play-off places and World Cup semi-final spots, which is why teams sometimes chase targets faster than they need to late in a group stage.

How to compare players properly

Stats are most useful when you compare like with like. A few rules help.

• Look at both average and strike rate together. A batter averaging 45 at a strike rate of 90 in ODIs is a very different player from one averaging 45 at 75.
• Check the sample size. An average of 70 after five innings means little. Most stats sites set a minimum number of innings or wickets for their leaderboards.
• Consider the era. ODI scoring rates are far higher now than in the 1990s, and pitches, bats and rules have all changed.
• Consider the role. An opener, a finisher, a new-ball bowler and a death bowler will have very different numbers even if they’re all excellent.
• Home and away splits matter. Plenty of batters average far more at home than away, and the best are those who score everywhere.

For a worked example of how two great batters stack up, see our Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli comparison.

Common mistakes and myths

“Average is runs per innings”

It’s runs per dismissal. Not-outs count towards runs but not dismissals.

“A higher bowling strike rate is better”

The opposite. For bowlers, strike rate is balls per wicket, so lower is better. It’s the batting strike rate that should be high.

“Economy uses 3.3 overs as 3.3”

3.3 overs is three overs and three balls, which is 3.5 overs. Using 3.3 gives the wrong answer.

“Byes count against the bowler”

They don’t, and nor do leg byes. Wides and no-balls do.

“Wickets are all that matter for bowlers”

In limited-overs cricket, economy is often more important. Holding an end and building pressure creates wickets for the bowler at the other end.

Frequently asked questions

How is batting average calculated in cricket?

Divide the total runs scored by the number of times the batter has been dismissed. Not-out innings add runs but don’t count as dismissals.

What is a good strike rate in T20 cricket?

For a top-order batter, around 130 is the usual minimum and above 150 is excellent. Expectations are higher for finishers.

What is the difference between bowling average and economy rate?

Bowling average is runs conceded per wicket. Economy rate is runs conceded per over. One measures wicket-taking cost, the other measures how hard a bowler is to score off.

Who has the highest Test batting average?

Among players with a long career, Don Bradman, with 99.94 from 52 Tests. Nobody with a substantial career has come close.

What does BBI mean in cricket stats?

Best bowling in an innings. BBM is best bowling in a match.

What is net run rate?

A tiebreaker used in tournaments. It’s a team’s runs per over minus the runs per over conceded, worked out across all its matches.

Numbers come alive when you see the innings behind them. Head to our cricket hub for highlights and classic matches, or check our IPL winners list to see which sides have turned the best numbers into titles.