Final Play BD — Cricket Formats Explained | finalplaybd.com

Final Play BD — Cricket Formats Explained | finalplaybd.com

Scoring and Terms

Runs, wickets, overs, extras and the common ways a batter is dismissed, explained for someone watching a match for the first time.

A run is scored when the two batters at the crease swap ends of the pitch. A stroke that reaches the boundary along the ground scores four runs; a stroke that clears the boundary on the full scores six. The runs are added to the batting side's total.

A wicket falls when a batter is dismissed. Ten wickets end an innings even if overs remain, which is why a batting side that loses wickets early has fewer deliveries left to score with. The over is the other limit: six legal deliveries bowled by the same bowler, after which the ends switch and a different bowler operates.

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Extras are runs conceded by the bowling side without a batter being credited: wides, no-balls, byes and leg-byes. They count towards the total, which is why a scoreboard total can exceed the sum of the individual batters' scores.

An innings is one turn at the bat for a side. Test cricket gives each side two innings and no limit on overs; ODIs and T20s give each side one innings of 50 or 20 overs. The number of innings and the overs available are the two figures that tell you what stage a match is at.

When rain interrupts a limited-overs match, the target is recalculated with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. It uses the overs and wickets still available to the chasing side, so a side that has lost wickets early is treated differently from one that has wickets in hand.

  • Run: one swap of ends by the two batters
  • Boundary: four along the ground, six over it
  • Wicket: one dismissal; ten end an innings
  • Over: six legal deliveries by one bowler
  • Extras: wides, no-balls, byes and leg-byes
  • Duckworth-Lewis-Stern: rain method for limited-overs targets

Further reading