![George Lohmann 1895b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/George_Lohmann_1895b.jpg)
In
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
, a player's bowling average is the number of
runs they have conceded per
wicket
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...
taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the
bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly used alongside the
economy rate
In cricket, a bowler's economy rate is the average number of runs they have conceded per over bowled. In most circumstances, the lower the economy rate is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare b ...
and the
strike rate to judge the overall performance of a bowler.
When a bowler has taken only a small number of wickets, their bowling average can be artificially high or low, and unstable, with further wickets taken or runs conceded resulting in large changes to their bowling average. Due to this, qualification restrictions are generally applied when determining which players have the best bowling averages. After applying these criteria,
George Lohmann
George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets ...
holds the record for the lowest average in
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...
, having claimed 112 wickets at an average of 10.75 runs per wicket.
Calculation
A cricketer's bowling average is calculated by dividing the numbers of
runs they have conceded by the number of
wicket
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...
s they have taken. The number of runs conceded by a bowler is determined as the total number of runs that the opposing side have scored while the bowler was bowling, excluding any
byes,
leg bye In cricket, a leg bye is a type of extra. It is a run scored by the batting team if the batter has not hit the ball with their bat, but the ball has hit the batter's body or protective gear. It is covered by Law 23 of the Laws of Cricket.
Scori ...
s, or
penalty run
In cricket, a penalty run is a type of extra. It is a run awarded to one team for various breaches of the Laws by the other team, generally related to unfair play or player conduct. Many of these penalties have been added since 2000. Penalties a ...
s. The bowler receives credit for any wickets taken during their bowling that are either
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
,
caught,
hit wicket
Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in pla ...
,
leg before wicket
Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...
or
stumped
Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping creas ...
.
A number of flaws have been identified for the statistic, most notable among these the fact that a bowler who has taken no wickets cannot have a bowling average, as
dividing by zero does not give a result. The effect of this is that the bowling average cannot distinguish between a bowler who has taken no wickets and conceded one run, and a bowler who has taken no wickets and conceded one hundred runs. The bowling average also does not tend to give a true reflection of the bowler's ability when the number of wickets they have taken is small, especially in comparison to the number of runs they have conceded.
[van Staden (2008), p. 3.] In his paper proposing an alternative method of judging batsmen and bowlers, Paul van Staden gives an example of this:
Suppose a bowler has bowled a total of 80 balls, conceded 60 runs and has taken only 2 wickets so that.. heir average is30. If the bowler takes a wicket with the next ball bowled (no runs obviously conceded), then heir average is20.
Due to this, when establishing records for bowling averages, qualification criteria are generally set. For
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...
, the ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' sets this as 75 wickets,
while
ESPNcricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
requires 2,000
deliveries.
Similar restrictions are set for
one-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket or white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty ...
.
Variations
A number of factors other than purely the ability level of the bowler have an effect on a player's bowling average. Most significant among these are the different eras in which cricket has been played. The bowling average tables in Test and
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
are headed by players who competed in the nineteenth century,
a period when
pitches were uncovered and some were so badly looked after that they had rocks on them. The bowlers competing in the
Howa Bowl
The Howa Bowl was a first-class cricket competition in South Africa that ran from the 1972–73 to 1990–91 cricket seasons. Originally known as the Dadabhay Trophy, it was contested between Eastern Province, Natal, Transvaal and Western Provi ...
, a competition played in South African during the apartheid-era, restricted to non-white players, during which time, according to
Vincent Barnes: "Most of the wickets we played on were underprepared. For me, as a bowler, it was great." Other factors which provided an advantage to bowlers in that era was the lack of significant
safety equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ele ...
; batting gloves and
helmets
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protec ...
were not worn, and batsmen had to be warier. Other variations are caused by frequent matches against stronger or weaker opposition, changes in the
laws of cricket
The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code which specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned and maintained by its custodian, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lond ...
and the length of matches.
Records
![AN Hornby c1895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/AN_Hornby_c1895.jpg)
Due to the varying qualifying restrictions placed on the records by different statisticians, the record for the lowest career bowling average can be different from publication to publication.
Test cricket
In
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...
,
George Lohmann
George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets ...
is listed as having the superior average by each of the ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'',
ESPNcricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
and CricketArchive. Though all three use different restrictions, Lohmann's average of 10.75 is considered the best.
If no qualification criteria were applied at all, three players—
Wilf Barber
Wilfred Barber (18 April 1901 – 10 September 1968) was a professional first-class cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1926 to 1947. He played two Test matches for England in 1935 against South Africa. An opening bat ...
,
A. N. Hornby
Albert Neilson Hornby, nicknamed Monkey Hornby (10 February 1847 – 17 December 1925) was one of the best-known sportsmen in England during the nineteenth century excelling in both rugby and cricket. He was the first of only two men to captain ...
and
Bruce Murray—would tie for the best average, all having claimed just one wicket in Test matches, without conceding any runs, thus averaging zero.
ESPNcricinfo list
Betty Wilson as having the best
Women's Test cricket
Women's Test cricket is the longest format of women's cricket and is the female equivalent to men's Test cricket. Matches comprise four-innings and are held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations. The rules gov ...
average with 11.80, while CricketArchive accept
Mary Spear's average of 5.78.
One Day Internationals
In
One Day Internationals, the varying criteria set by ESPNcricinfo and CricketArchive result in same player being listed as holding the record. ESPNcricinfo has the stricter restriction, requiring 1,000 deliveries whereas CricketArchive has more relaxed requirement of 400 deliveries. By both measures,
Sandeep Lamichhane
Sandeep Lamichhane ( ne, सन्दीप लामिछाने, ; born 2 August 2000) is a Nepalese cricketer who captained the Nepalese national team,
A right-arm leg spin bowler, Lamichhane has played for Twenty20 franchise sides acro ...
is the record-holder, having claimed his wickets at an average of 15.57.
In
women's One Day International cricket
Women's One Day International (WODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...
,
Caroline Barrs tops the CricketArchive list with an average of 9.52, but by ESPNcricinfo's stricter guidelines, the record is instead held by
Gill Smith's 12.53.
T20 Internationals
The record is again split for the two websites for
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
cricket; in this situation ESPNcricinfo has the lower boundary, requiring just 30 balls to have been bowled.
George O'Brien's average of 8.20 holds the record using those criteria, but the stricter 200 deliveries required by CricketArchive results in
Andre Botha being listed as the superior, averaging 8.76.
First Class cricket
Domestically, the records for
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
are dominated by players from the nineteenth century, who make up sixteen of the top twenty by ESPNcricinfo's criteria of 5,000 deliveries.
William Lillywhite
Frederick William Lillywhite (13 June 1792 – 21 August 1854) was an English first-class cricketer during the game's roundarm era. One of the main protagonists in the legalisation of roundarm, he was one of the most successful bowlers of his ...
, who was active from 1825 to 1853 has the lowest average, claiming his 1,576 wickets at an average of just 1.54. The leading players from the twentieth century are
Stephen Draai and
Vincent Barnes with averages of just under twelve,
both of whom claimed the majority of their wickets in the South African
Howa Bowl
The Howa Bowl was a first-class cricket competition in South Africa that ran from the 1972–73 to 1990–91 cricket seasons. Originally known as the Dadabhay Trophy, it was contested between Eastern Province, Natal, Transvaal and Western Provi ...
tournament during the apartheid era.
See also
*
Batting average (cricket)
*
Strike rate
References
Bibliography
*
{{Cricket statistics
Bowling (cricket)
Cricket terminology
Cricket records and statistics