If you want to know how to read a cricket scorecard, start with the batting card (each batter’s runs, balls faced, boundaries and how they were out), then check extras and the total, then the bowling figures (overs, maidens, runs conceded and wickets). Those three blocks tell you who scored, who took wickets and how quickly the game moved.
This guide on how to read a cricket scorecard walks through every column and abbreviation, the quirks of over notation, run rates, and how Test and limited-overs cards differ. We finish with a fully worked example so you can test yourself.
In this guide
- The Batting Card: R, B, 4s, 6s and SR
- Dismissal Notation Explained
- Extras: b, lb, w and nb
- The Total and Fall of Wickets
- Bowling Figures: O, M, R, W and Econ
- Partial Overs: Why 19.4 Is Not 19.4
- Run Rate and Required Run Rate
- Test vs Limited-Overs Scorecards
- How to Read a Cricket Scorecard: A Worked Example
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key Takeaways
The Batting Card: R, B, 4s, 6s and SR
Learning how to read a cricket scorecard starts with the batting card. It lists each batter in the order they came in. Next to the name you will see how they were dismissed (or “not out”), followed by a row of numbers.
| Column | Stands for | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| R | Runs | Runs the batter scored off the bat. Extras are not included. |
| B | Balls faced | Deliveries the batter received. No-balls count; wides do not. |
| 4s | Fours | Boundaries that reached the rope after touching the ground. |
| 6s | Sixes | Boundaries cleared on the full. |
| SR | Strike rate | Runs per 100 balls: (R ÷ B) × 100. |
A batter on 45 off 30 balls has a strike rate of 150.00. In T20 cricket, that is aggressive scoring. In a Test, a strike rate around 50 is perfectly normal because survival matters more than speed.
A few symbols appear around names, and conventions vary by publisher:
- * after a score (e.g. 67*) means not out.
- (c) marks the captain; † or (wk) marks the wicketkeeper. Some cards use * next to the captain’s name instead.
- Did not bat (or “Yet to bat”) lists players who never reached the crease.
- Retired hurt means a batter left injured without being dismissed.
Dismissal Notation Explained
The dismissal column is the most cryptic part of the card, but it follows a strict pattern. The fielder involved comes first, the bowler credited comes after “b”.
| Notation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| b Bowler | Bowled: the ball hit the stumps | b Singh |
| c Fielder b Bowler | Caught by a fielder off that bowler | c Brown b Singh |
| c & b Bowler | Caught and bowled: the bowler took the catch | c & b Okafor |
| lbw b Bowler | Leg before wicket | lbw b Singh |
| st Keeper b Bowler | Stumped by the wicketkeeper | st Hughes b Lewis |
| run out (Fielder) | Run out; fielders involved in brackets | run out (Brown/Hughes) |
| hit wicket b Bowler | Batter dislodged the bails with bat or body | hit wicket b Lewis |
Notice that run outs carry no “b”. Bowlers are credited with wickets for bowled, caught, lbw, stumped and hit wicket, but not for run outs. That is why a team can lose five wickets while the bowling figures only add up to four.
The full definitions of each mode of dismissal sit in the Laws of Cricket, maintained by the MCC, the custodians of the Laws.
Extras: b, lb, w and nb
Extras are runs added to the team total that do not belong to any batter. They usually appear on one line under the batting card, like this: Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 4, nb 1) 9.
- b (byes): runs taken when the ball misses the bat and the body and passes the keeper.
- lb (leg byes): runs taken after the ball hits the batter’s body (not the bat), provided they tried to play a shot or avoid being hit.
- w (wides): a delivery too wide (or, in some formats, too high) for the batter to reach with a normal stroke. It costs one penalty run plus any runs taken, and must be re-bowled.
- nb (no-balls): usually an overstep of the front line or a dangerous high full toss. One penalty run is added, plus any runs scored, and the ball is re-bowled. In limited-overs internationals, the next ball is a free hit.
Wides and no-balls are charged to the bowler’s figures. Byes and leg byes are not, because they are considered the fielding side’s lapse rather than the bowler’s. Some cards also show a “pen” figure for five-run penalties awarded for fielding-side offences.
The Total and Fall of Wickets
Below extras comes the total, usually written as runs/wickets, e.g. 163/5 (20 overs). In Australia the order is often reversed (5/163), so always check which number is the bigger one.
The fall of wickets (FoW) line shows the team score when each wicket fell. For example, 1-18 (Clarke, 3.1 ov) means the first wicket fell with the score on 18, when Clarke was out on the first ball of the fourth over.
FoW is where the story of an innings hides. Subtract one entry from the next to find each partnership. A collapse such as 3-140, 4-142, 5-145 jumps out instantly, even if the final total looks healthy.
Bowling Figures: O, M, R, W and Econ
The bowling card lists every bowler who bowled in the innings, with their figures in a set order.
| Column | Stands for | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| O | Overs | Overs bowled (six legal deliveries each) |
| M | Maidens | Complete overs in which no runs were charged to the bowler |
| R | Runs | Runs conceded, including wides and no-balls but not byes or leg byes |
| W | Wickets | Dismissals credited to the bowler |
| Econ | Economy rate | Runs conceded per over: R ÷ O |
| Wd / NB | Wides / No-balls | How many of each the bowler sent down (shown on many cards) |
How “10-1-45-3” reads
Bowling figures are often written as a single string in the order O-M-R-W. So 10-1-45-3 means 10 overs, 1 maiden, 45 runs conceded and 3 wickets. The economy rate is 45 ÷ 10 = 4.50 runs per over.
You will also see shorthand such as “3/45” or “3-45”, which gives wickets and runs only. Outside Australia, wickets usually come first in that format. Two further measures appear in career stats: bowling average (runs per wicket, here 15.00) and bowling strike rate (balls per wicket, here 60 ÷ 3 = 20.0).
Partial Overs: Why 19.4 Is Not 19.4
Overs use a base-six decimal. The number after the point is the number of balls bowled in the current over, not a fraction. So 19.4 overs means 19 complete overs plus 4 balls, which is 118 balls in total. The figure after the point never goes above 5.
This matters when you calculate rates. To convert, multiply the whole overs by six and add the balls: 19 × 6 + 4 = 118. In true decimal terms, 19.4 overs is 19.67 overs.
Run Rate and Required Run Rate
The current run rate (CRR) is runs scored per over. The required run rate (RRR) is the runs a chasing team still needs divided by the overs left.
- CRR = runs ÷ overs bowled (in true decimals)
- RRR = runs needed ÷ overs remaining (in true decimals)
Take a team on 150 after 19.4 overs. The common mistake is 150 ÷ 19.4 = 7.73. The correct answer is 150 ÷ (118 ÷ 6) = 150 ÷ 19.67 = 7.63. Over a chase, small errors like this add up.
In rain-affected limited-overs games, targets are reset using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, and the scorecard will usually show a revised target and overs.
Test vs Limited-Overs Scorecards
The basics of how to read a cricket scorecard stay the same across formats, but the context changes. If you are unsure how the formats differ, see our guide to Test vs ODI vs T20 cricket formats.
| Feature | Test | ODI | T20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innings per team | Up to 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Overs per innings | No limit | 50 | 20 |
| Max overs per bowler | No limit | 10 | 4 |
| Typical batting SR | Lower (survival first) | Moderate | High |
| Special notation | “d” or “dec” (declared), “f/o” (follow-on) | Target, RRR, DLS | Target, RRR, DLS |
In a Test, you will see four innings stacked in order, plus the lead or deficit after each one. A total such as 412/8d means the batting side declared with eight wickets down. Results also read differently: a team chasing can win “by 6 wickets”, while a team defending wins “by 45 runs”.
How to Read a Cricket Scorecard: A Worked Example
Here is how to read a cricket scorecard in practice. The match below is a fictional example: the teams and players are invented for illustration only.
Example XI A batting (20 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Patel | c Brown b Singh | 42 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 127.27 |
| J. Clarke | b Okafor | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 72.73 |
| R. Mendes | lbw b Singh | 27 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 117.39 |
| T. Walsh (c) | not out | 55 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 157.14 |
| D. Kim | run out (Brown/Hughes) | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 133.33 |
| S. Ahmed | st Hughes b Lewis | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| M. Fraser | not out | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Extras | (b 1, lb 3, w 4, nb 1) | 9 | ||||
| Total | 5 wickets, 20 overs | 163 |
Did not bat: four players. Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Clarke, 3.1 ov), 2-61 (Mendes, 8.4 ov), 3-89 (Patel, 11.5 ov), 4-118 (Kim, 15.2 ov), 5-131 (Ahmed, 17.3 ov).
Example XI B bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ | Wd | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singh | 4 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 7.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Okafor | 4 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 8.75 | 2 | 0 |
| Lewis | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 7.75 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown | 4 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 6.50 | 0 | 0 |
| Ndlovu | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 9.75 | 2 | 1 |
What the example tells you
- Walsh was the star: 55* off 35 balls, the top score and the highest strike rate among the main batters.
- The runs add up: 154 off the bat plus 9 extras makes 163.
- The bowling reconciles: the bowlers conceded 159, which is the total minus the 4 byes and leg byes. Their wickets add to 4, because Kim’s run out is not credited to a bowler.
- Balls faced exceed 120: the batters faced 121 balls in 20 overs because the one no-ball counts as a ball faced, while the four wides do not.
- Brown’s maiden: figures of 4-1-26-0 show one over with nothing conceded, the best economy in the innings.
Now imagine Example XI B reply and reach 120/3 after 14.2 overs, needing 164. Their run rate is 120 ÷ (86 ÷ 6) = 8.37. They need 44 more from 5.4 overs (34 balls), so the required rate is 44 ÷ (34 ÷ 6) = 7.76. The chasing side is ahead of the rate, with seven wickets in hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the asterisk mean on a cricket scorecard?
An asterisk after a batter’s score, such as 55*, means the batter finished not out. On some scorecards an asterisk next to a player’s name marks the captain instead, so check the key. A not-out innings does not count as a dismissal when calculating a batter’s average.
What is a good economy rate?
It depends on the format. In Test cricket, conceding under three runs per over is generally tight. In ODIs, an economy below five is usually strong. In T20 cricket, anything under about seven or eight runs per over is often a good return, depending on the pitch and conditions.
Why do the bowlers’ wickets not match the team’s wickets?
Some dismissals are not credited to the bowler. Run outs are the most common example, and others include obstructing the field and timed out. A batter retiring also affects the total without adding to any bowler’s tally, so the bowling card can show fewer wickets than the batting side lost.
Are wides and no-balls counted against the bowler?
Yes. Wides and no-balls are added to the bowler’s runs conceded and appear in the extras total. Byes and leg byes are also extras, but they are not charged to the bowler. That is why the runs column on the bowling card rarely adds up to the team total exactly.
What is the quickest way to learn how to read a cricket scorecard?
Follow a live match with the scorecard open. Read the batting card for who scored, the fall of wickets for partnerships and the bowling figures for who controlled the game. After a few matches, abbreviations like lbw, st and c & b become second nature.
Key Takeaways
- Batting cards show runs, balls, boundaries and strike rate; the dismissal column names the fielder first and the bowler after “b”.
- Extras split into byes, leg byes, wides and no-balls; only wides and no-balls are charged to the bowler.
- Bowling figures read O-M-R-W, so 10-1-45-3 means 10 overs, 1 maiden, 45 runs, 3 wickets.
- Overs are base six: 19.4 overs is 118 balls, which matters for run-rate maths.
Once you know how to read a cricket scorecard, every match report makes more sense. Plan your viewing with our 2027 sporting events calendar and put your new skills to work.
