Cricket glossary: scoring and match terms
This cricket glossary explains 63 terms used in scoring, extras, dismissals, bowling, batting, fielding, formats, and scorebook notation. Each definition stands alone, uses practical match language, and links related concepts. Start with run rate and over notation when reading a scorecard, or jump directly to any category or letter.
What do scoring terms mean?
Runs reach the total in one of three ways: the batters complete them by running, the ball reaches the boundary, or the umpire awards them as extras. Only the first two are credited to the batter, which is why a team total is almost always larger than the sum of the batting scores.
Run#
A run is the basic unit of cricket scoring. Batters earn runs by safely changing ends, hitting a boundary, or receiving certain extras. The team total combines batter runs and extras, while an individual batter receives only the runs credited from the bat.
Example: Two completed changes of end add two runs to both the striker’s score and the team total.
Boundary#
A boundary is the edge of the playing area or a scoring shot that reaches it. A ball reaching the rope after touching the ground normally scores four, while clearing it without bouncing normally scores six. Local grounds may mark the boundary with cones, a line, or a fence.
Example: A grounded shot that touches the rope is recorded as four even if the batters crossed first.
Four#
A four is awarded when a ball hit by the batter reaches or crosses the boundary after touching the ground. Four runs are credited to the batter without requiring the pair to complete them physically. Overthrows can also reach the boundary, but their scoring treatment depends on how the runs arose.
Example: A cover drive rolling into the rope adds four to the striker and the team.
Six#
A six is awarded when a ball struck by the batter clears the boundary on the full without first touching the ground inside it. Six runs go to the batter and team total. A fielder touching the ball while grounded beyond the rope also makes the hit a six.
Example: A lofted shot over long-on that lands beyond the rope is six runs.
Dot ball#
A dot ball is a legal delivery from which no run is scored. Scorebooks mark it with a dot, which gives the term its name. Dots reduce the batting side’s scoring rate and build pressure, but an illegal wide or no-ball cannot be a dot because it adds an extra.
Example: A defended legal delivery with no attempted run appears as a dot in the over log.
Related terms: Legal delivery, Over notation
Run rate#
Run rate is the average number of runs scored per standard six-ball over. Calculate it by multiplying runs by six and dividing by legal balls faced. Partial overs must first become balls because 12.4 overs means 76 deliveries, not twelve and four-tenths of an over.
Example: Seventy-six runs from 60 balls is a run rate of 7.60.
Related terms: Required run rate, Net run rate, Over
Required run rate#
Required run rate is the future scoring pace a chasing team needs to reach its winning target. It equals runs still needed multiplied by six, divided by legal balls remaining. The target, not the first-innings score, belongs in the calculation because a team normally needs one extra run to win.
Also called: RRR
Example: Needing 48 from 36 balls produces a required run rate of 8.00.
Net run rate#
Net run rate compares a team’s scoring speed with the speed it conceded across relevant matches. It subtracts runs conceded per over from runs scored per over using aggregate totals. When a team is all out early, its full overs quota normally replaces the shorter innings in the denominator.
Also called: NRR
Example: Scoring at 8.00 and conceding at 7.25 gives an NRR of +0.750.
Target#
The target is the minimum total the team batting second needs to win. In an uninterrupted innings it is normally one more than Team 1’s final score. Rain adjustments can revise it. A score exactly one below the target produces a tie rather than a successful chase.
Example: If Team 1 scores 149, the ordinary target is 150.
Related terms: Required run rate, Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method
Partnership#
A partnership is the runs added while a particular pair of batters occupies the two creases. It begins when they come together and ends with a dismissal, retirement, or innings completion. Partnership runs include team extras, so they can exceed the two batters’ combined individual additions.
Example: A pair adding 54 before the next wicket has made a 54-run partnership.
Related terms: Striker, Non-striker
What do extras terms mean?
Extras are runs the batting side receives without a batter earning them off the bat. Wides and no-balls also cost the bowling side an additional delivery, whereas byes and leg byes do not, so the two groups affect the over count differently.
Wide#
A wide is a delivery the umpire judges too far from the striker to hit with a normal cricket stroke from the current position. It adds at least one extra, is not a legal ball, and must be bowled again. Additional completed runs or a boundary can increase the wide total.
Example: A wide with no further running adds one run and leaves the over ball count unchanged.
Related terms: No-ball, Legal delivery
No-ball#
A no-ball is an illegal delivery, commonly called for overstepping or another breach of the delivery rules. It adds a penalty extra, does not count as one of the over’s legal balls, and can carry additional runs from the bat or extras. Limited-overs rules often make the next delivery a free hit.
Example: A no-ball hit for four normally adds five runs in total.
Related terms: Free hit, Wide, Legal delivery
Bye#
A bye is an extra completed after a legal delivery passes the striker without touching the bat or body. The runs increase the team total but are not credited to the batter or normally charged to the bowler. The delivery still counts in the over because it was legal.
Example: If both batters run once after the wicketkeeper misses the ball, one bye is recorded.
Leg bye#
A leg bye is an extra scored after a legal delivery touches the striker’s body without being hit by the bat, provided the striker attempted a shot or tried to avoid the ball. It raises the team total but is not credited to the batter or normally charged to the bowler.
Example: A ball deflecting from the pad while a shot is attempted can produce leg byes.
Related terms: Bye, Leg before wicket
Penalty runs#
Penalty runs are awarded under the Laws or competition rules for specified unfair actions, conduct, or procedural breaches. They are added to the appropriate team total rather than a batter’s score. Five-run penalties are common, but the exact award and timing depend on the incident and playing conditions.
Example: An umpire may award five penalty runs for repeated unfair conduct by the fielding side.
Related terms: Extras
Overthrow#
An overthrow occurs when a fielder’s throw is not gathered and allows additional runs. The ball remains live unless it reaches the boundary or play otherwise ends. The final award can combine completed runs, runs in progress under the applicable Law, and a boundary allowance.
Example: A missed return to the wicketkeeper can let the batters complete an extra run.
Extras#
Extras are team runs not credited as ordinary runs from the batter’s bat. They include wides, no-balls, byes, leg byes, and penalty runs. Scorecards usually show each type separately because some count against the bowler, some use a legal delivery, and others affect neither batter nor bowler figures.
Example: A total of 140 can contain 132 batter runs and eight extras.
What do dismissals terms mean?
The Laws list ten ways to be out, but caught, bowled, lbw, run out and stumped cover almost every dismissal in a local match. The distinction that matters most on a scorecard is which of them are credited to the bowler, because a run out never is.
Bowled#
Bowled is a dismissal in which a legal delivery puts down the striker’s wicket, even after touching the bat or body. The bowler receives credit for the wicket. A no-ball prevents this dismissal, while a wide cannot bowl the striker because it is not a legal delivery.
Example: A legal ball hitting the off stump and removing a bail dismisses the striker bowled.
Related terms: Wicket notation, Legal delivery
Caught#
Caught is a dismissal when a fielder securely completes a catch from a ball touched by the striker’s bat before it hits the ground. The bowler receives the wicket. Boundary and control rules still apply, and a catch cannot dismiss the batter from a no-ball.
Example: A shot held by a fielder at point before touching the turf is caught.
Leg before wicket#
Leg before wicket dismisses a striker when a legal ball intercepted by the body would otherwise have hit the wicket, subject to detailed pitching, impact, and shot-attempt conditions. The umpire decides an appeal against those conditions. The bowler receives credit for an LBW wicket.
Also called: LBW
Example: A ball pitching in line and striking the pad before middle stump may support an LBW appeal.
Related terms: Leg bye, Wicket notation
Run out#
Run out occurs when the fielding side fairly breaks a wicket while a batter is out of their ground and no stronger dismissal applies. It can happen from most deliveries and is not credited to the bowler. The scorecard records the responsible fielders where known.
Example: A direct hit before the non-striker grounds the bat can complete a run out.
Related terms: Crease, Wicket notation
Stumped#
Stumped occurs when the wicketkeeper puts down the striker’s wicket while the striker is out of the ground, not attempting a run, and the delivery is not a no-ball. The bowler and wicketkeeper receive credit in the scorecard. A wide can still produce a stumping.
Example: A keeper removing the bails after a batter misses and overbalances can record a stumping.
Related terms: Wicketkeeper, Crease
Hit wicket#
Hit wicket dismisses the striker when, after the bowler enters the delivery stride and while playing or immediately setting off for a run, the striker fairly puts down their own wicket with the body or equipment. The bowler receives credit, but a no-ball prevents the dismissal.
Example: A batter stepping back onto the stumps while pulling a legal ball can be hit wicket.
Related terms: No-ball, Wicket notation
Retired hurt#
Retired hurt describes a batter leaving the innings because of injury, illness, or another accepted unavoidable cause. It is normally recorded as not out, and the batter may resume later if permitted. No bowler receives a wicket because retirement in this situation is not a dismissal.
Example: A batter leaving after being struck on the hand may return after treatment.
Related terms: Not out, Retired out
Retired out#
Retired out is recorded when a batter leaves without an accepted injury, illness, or other unavoidable reason and does not have permission to resume. It counts as a dismissal for batting-average purposes, but the wicket is not credited to a bowler.
Example: A tactical retirement without permission to return is scored retired out.
Related terms: Retired hurt, Batting average
Timed out#
Timed out is a dismissal when an incoming batter is not ready to receive the next ball within the time allowed by the applicable Laws or competition rules. The fielding side must appeal. The dismissal counts against the batter but is not credited to the bowler.
Example: A new batter arriving after the competition’s permitted interval can be given timed out on appeal.
Related terms: Wicket notation
What do bowling terms mean?
Bowling figures are judged per over rather than per delivery, so economy rate is the number most often quoted. Wickets falling to a run out do not appear in any bowler’s column, even though they end a partnership just as effectively.
Over#
An over is a sequence of six legal deliveries bowled from one end by the same bowler under standard modern playing conditions. Wides and no-balls do not use one of those six balls. Score notation writes completed overs before the point and balls into the next over after it.
Example: 12.4 overs means 12 complete overs plus four legal balls, or 76 balls.
Related terms: Legal delivery, Over notation
Maiden over#
A maiden is a completed over in which no runs are charged to the bowler. Byes or leg byes may occur without spoiling the maiden because they are not bowler-conceded runs, depending on the scoring rules used. A wicket maiden is both scoreless against the bowler and contains a wicket.
Also called: Maiden
Example: Six legal dot balls complete an ordinary maiden over.
Related terms: Wicket maiden, Economy rate
Economy rate#
Economy rate is the average number of runs charged to a bowler per standard six-ball over. It equals runs conceded multiplied by six, divided by legal balls bowled. Wides and no-balls normally add bowler runs without adding legal balls, while byes and leg byes are normally excluded.
Example: Thirty runs conceded from 24 legal balls gives an economy rate of 7.50.
Related terms: Bowling average, Bowling strike rate, Over
Bowling average#
Bowling average is the number of runs a bowler concedes for each wicket credited to that bowler. Divide runs conceded by credited wickets. Run outs and several uncommon dismissals do not enter the wicket divisor, and the average remains undefined until the bowler takes a credited wicket.
Example: Conceding 240 runs for 12 wickets gives a bowling average of 20.00.
Related terms: Economy rate, Bowling strike rate
Bowling strike rate#
Bowling strike rate is the average number of legal balls delivered for each wicket credited to the bowler. Divide legal balls by credited wickets. A lower figure means wickets arrived more frequently. Unlike batting strike rate, it does not measure runs and is not expressed per 100 balls.
Example: One hundred twenty legal balls and eight wickets produces a bowling strike rate of 15.0.
Related terms: Batting strike rate, Bowling average
Bowling spell#
A bowling spell is a continuous period in which one bowler is used, ending when that bowler is taken out of the attack. A later return begins another spell. Scorecards may combine every spell into final figures, while commentary uses spell figures to describe a specific passage of play.
Also called: Spell
Example: A bowler delivering three overs, resting, then returning later has bowled two spells.
Related terms: Over, Economy rate
Wicket maiden#
A wicket maiden is a completed over in which the bowler takes at least one credited wicket and concedes no runs charged to the bowling analysis. Team extras such as byes can affect how a local scorecard labels the over, so the recorded bowling figures remain the safest reference.
Example: An over containing five dots and a bowled dismissal is a wicket maiden.
Related terms: Maiden over, Wicket notation
Free hit#
A free hit is a limited-overs playing condition usually applied to the delivery after certain no-balls. On that ball, the striker cannot be dismissed by most methods that credit the bowler, though run out and some rare dismissals remain possible. Another qualifying no-ball can extend the free-hit sequence.
Example: After a front-foot no-ball, the next delivery is commonly signalled as a free hit.
Related terms: No-ball, Legal delivery
Legal delivery#
A legal delivery is a ball that is neither called wide nor no-ball and therefore counts toward completing the over. Runs, wickets, byes, or leg byes can occur from it without changing that status. Correct legal-ball counting underpins overs, run rates, economy rates, and required-rate calculations.
Example: A legal ball hit for six still advances the over by one delivery.
Yorker#
A yorker is a delivery aimed to pitch very close to the batter’s feet or popping crease, making a full swing difficult and threatening the base of the stumps. It describes length rather than a separate scoring event. A yorker can still be legal, wide, a no-ball, hit, or defended.
Example: A full ball landing beside the striker’s toes is commonly described as a yorker.
Related terms: Legal delivery, Bowled
What do batting terms mean?
Batting numbers separate volume from speed. An average measures how many runs a dismissal costs the side, while a strike rate measures how quickly those runs arrive, and a format usually makes one of the two far more relevant than the other.
Batting average#
Batting average is total runs divided by the number of times a batter was dismissed. Not-out innings add runs but do not add a dismissal, so innings and dismissals are not interchangeable. A batter with no dismissals has an undefined average rather than an infinite one.
Example: Three hundred runs from eight dismissals gives a batting average of 37.50.
Related terms: Not out, Batting strike rate
Batting strike rate#
Batting strike rate measures scoring speed as runs per 100 balls faced. Multiply batter runs by 100 and divide by balls faced. A higher rate means faster scoring, but match format and situation matter. It is distinct from bowling strike rate, which counts legal balls per wicket.
Also called: Strike rate
Example: Sixty runs from 40 balls gives a batting strike rate of 150.00.
Related terms: Batting average, Bowling strike rate
Not out#
Not out marks a batter whose innings ended without a dismissal, commonly because the team’s innings finished, the target was reached, or play stopped. The runs still count fully, but the innings does not increase the dismissal divisor used for batting average. Scorecards often add an asterisk to the score.
Example: A score shown as 42* means the batter made 42 and was not out.
Related terms: Batting average, Retired hurt
Duck#
A duck is a batter’s score of zero when dismissed. The term describes the individual innings, not how many balls were faced. A not-out batter on zero has not made a duck because no dismissal occurred. Variants distinguish whether the dismissal came on the first ball.
Example: A batter caught for 0 after three balls records a duck.
Related terms: Golden duck, Not out
Golden duck#
A golden duck is a dismissal for zero from the batter’s first ball faced. It is a descriptive cricket term rather than a separate scorebook value. A first-ball run out can require care because whether the batter faced the delivery depends on who was on strike and what occurred.
Example: A striker bowled by the first delivery faced is out for a golden duck.
Half-century#
A half-century is an individual score of at least 50 runs but fewer than 100 in one innings. Reaching fifty is a milestone, not a bonus, so the score continues normally. If the batter later reaches 100, the innings is counted as a century rather than both milestones in career summaries.
Also called: Fifty
Example: An unbeaten 74 is recorded as a half-century in that innings.
Century#
A century is an individual score of at least 100 runs in one innings. It remains one century whether the batter finishes on 100 or continues much higher, though double and triple centuries receive additional descriptions. The team total can include extras that do not help the batter reach the milestone.
Also called: Hundred
Example: A batter finishing on 118 has scored one century.
Related terms: Half-century, Extras
Crease#
A crease is one of the marked lines around each wicket that helps define batter safety, bowler delivery limits, and other decisions. A batter usually makes the ground by grounding the bat or body behind the popping crease. Being outside it can enable a run out or stumping.
Example: Sliding the bat behind the popping crease can complete a run safely.
Striker#
The striker is the batter facing the current delivery. Runs from the bat and balls faced are normally credited to the striker, while the partner waits at the opposite end as the non-striker. The roles can swap after odd completed runs, at over changes, or through certain dismissals.
Example: The batter receiving the bowler’s next ball is the striker.
Related terms: Non-striker, Partnership
Non-striker#
The non-striker is the batter at the bowler’s end while the partner faces the delivery. This batter can run, be run out, and change ends but does not receive a ball faced merely for being present. The non-striker usually becomes striker after an odd number of completed runs.
Example: A single normally swaps the striker and non-striker for the next ball.
Nightwatcher#
A nightwatcher is usually a lower-order batter promoted near the end of a day’s play in multi-day cricket to protect a specialist batter from a short, difficult period. The role changes batting order strategy but has no special scoring rule. Casual limited-overs matches rarely use it.
Example: A bowler sent in shortly before stumps may act as the nightwatcher.
Related terms: Striker
What do fielding positions terms mean?
Fielding position names are described from the striker’s point of view, so the same name covers opposite sides of the ground depending on which hand the batter uses. Captains reset the field when a left-hander comes on strike for exactly this reason.
Wicketkeeper#
The wicketkeeper fields directly behind the striker’s wicket and is the only fielder normally permitted to wear wicketkeeping gloves and external leg guards. The keeper gathers missed balls, completes catches and stumpings, and supports run-out attempts. Scorecards credit catches and stumpings to this player.
Example: A keeper collecting the ball and removing the bails can complete a stumping.
Slip#
Slip is a close catching position behind the batter on the off side, beside the wicketkeeper. Teams can use several slips, numbered outward from the keeper. The position targets edges from pace or spin bowling and is usually more attacking than a boundary-saving field placement.
Example: An outside edge held beside the wicketkeeper is often recorded as caught at slip.
Related terms: Caught, Wicketkeeper
Point#
Point is an off-side fielding position roughly square of the batter, often used to stop cut shots and take sharp catches. A backward point stands slightly behind square, while a deep point guards the boundary. The exact location changes with the bowler, batter, and tactical field.
Example: A square cut may travel directly toward the point fielder.
Cover#
Cover is an off-side position in front of square, between point and mid-off. The fielder protects drives through that region and may stand close enough for catches or deeper to save boundaries. Extra cover sits farther toward mid-off, while deep cover moves near the rope.
Example: A firmly struck cover drive passes through the area this fielder protects.
Mid-off#
Mid-off is a straightish off-side fielding position in front of the batter and near the bowler’s end. The fielder stops drives, supports run outs, and often communicates with the bowler as captain. A deep mid-off stands nearer the boundary when preventing fours matters more than close pressure.
Example: A checked straight drive may be collected by mid-off beside the bowler.
Mid-on#
Mid-on mirrors mid-off on the leg side, standing in front of the batter near the line of a straight drive. The position saves runs, offers a catching option, and backs up throws near the bowler’s end. Long-on is the deeper boundary version of the same general direction.
Example: An on-drive along the ground may be stopped by mid-on.
Related terms: Mid-off
What do formats terms mean?
The format sets the overs quota per side, and that single number drives the scoring rate teams aim for, the all-out rule used in net run rate, and how a shortened match is recalculated.
T10#
T10 is a limited-overs format in which each side is scheduled to bat for ten overs. Its short length usually encourages aggressive scoring and compressed bowling spells, though exact powerplay and fielding rules depend on the competition. An innings can still end earlier through dismissal or a completed chase.
Example: A full T10 innings contains at most 60 legal balls.
T20#
T20 is a limited-overs format in which each team normally receives twenty overs. A full innings therefore contains up to 120 legal balls unless it ends early. Competition rules define powerplays, bowler limits, interruption procedures, and tie-breakers, while the basic scoring terms remain ordinary cricket rules.
Example: A team reaching 168/6 after 20.0 overs has completed its scheduled T20 innings.
One Day International#
A One Day International is an official international limited-overs match, normally scheduled for 50 overs per side and played under ICC conditions. ODI status applies only to qualifying national teams and fixtures. Local 50-over cricket can use similar playing rules without being an ODI.
Also called: ODI
Example: A club match of 50 overs per side is limited-overs cricket but not automatically an ODI.
Related terms: Powerplay, Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method
Powerplay#
A powerplay is a phase of limited-overs cricket with restrictions on how many fielders may stand outside designated inner fielding areas. The overs and limits vary by format and competition. Powerplays influence scoring tactics but do not change how runs, wickets, legal balls, or individual figures are recorded.
Example: A T20 competition may restrict boundary fielders during the opening six overs.
Related terms: T20, One Day International
Super Over#
A Super Over is a tie-break procedure used by some limited-overs competitions after a tied match. Each team faces a short additional innings, commonly one over, under competition-specific wicket and result rules. It is separate from the original innings, so organisers must follow the exact playing conditions in force.
Example: Two tied T20 teams may each bat for one additional over to decide the winner.
Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method#
The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method revises targets in interrupted limited-overs matches by comparing the run-scoring resources available to both teams. Resources depend on overs remaining and wickets lost, not overs alone. Official matches use the authorised current calculator and applicable playing conditions rather than an informal run-rate adjustment.
Also called: DLS
Example: A rain-shortened chase can receive a revised target based on the resources Team 2 retains.
Calculate duckworth-lewis-stern method
Related terms: Target, Required run rate
What do scorebook notation terms mean?
Scorebook symbols compress a delivery into a character or two so that a whole over reads as one row. The same notation is what a printed scorecard, a commentary feed and the over strip on a live scoreboard are all rendering.
Score notation#
Cricket score notation usually writes team runs followed by wickets lost, such as 120/4. Some regions reverse that order in speech or display. A completed all-out innings may simply show the total, while a chase can add the target and required rate for context.
Example: 120/4 means 120 team runs with four wickets lost.
Related terms: Fall of wicket, Over notation
Fall of wicket#
Fall of wicket records the team score, wicket number, dismissed batter, and often the over when each dismissal occurred. The sequence shows how an innings developed and identifies partnerships between wickets. Retirements or unusual dismissals must follow the scorecard’s competition-specific recording rules.
Also called: FOW
Example: 1-32 (Patel, 4.5 ov) means the first wicket fell at 32 after 4.5 overs.
Related terms: Partnership, Wicket notation
Over notation#
Over notation places completed overs before a point and legal balls in the current over after it. It is base-six notation rather than a decimal measurement, so the ball digit runs only from zero to five. Six more legal balls carry into the next complete over.
Example: 7.5 overs is 47 balls; the next legal delivery completes 8.0 overs.
Related terms: Over, Legal delivery
Wicket notation#
Wicket notation describes how a batter was dismissed and which fielders or bowler receive credit. Common forms include “b” for bowled, “c” for caught, “lbw,” “run out,” and “st” for stumped. The accompanying score and balls faced complete the batting-card entry.
Example: “c Singh b Khan 24” means Singh caught the batter from Khan’s bowling for 24.
Related terms: Bowled, Caught, Leg before wicket, Run out, Stumped
How do these cricket terms appear when you score a match?
A live cricket score turns formal match language into a sequence viewers can follow: the current score, timed or ball-by-ball events, player contributions, and the match state. Use the sport page to create that record, then use the calculator collection whenever a rate, average, target, or team split needs separate working.
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