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 striki ...

, the run rate (RR), or runs per over (RPO), is the

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

number of runs a batting side scores per

over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

. It includes all runs made by the batting side in the

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

to that point of the game, both the runs scored by the batsmen and extras conceded by the bowling team.

Values

What counts as a good run rate depends on the nature of the pitch, the type of match and the level of the game. A

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

held over five days typically has a lower run rate than a limited-overs game, because batsmen adopt a more cautious approach. In recent years, the average Test run rate has been between 3 and 3.5 runs per over, sometimes even lower whereas in

limited overs 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 ...

the batsmen must adopt a more

gung-ho ''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese I ...

approach in order to achieve the necessary score to win. In

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(50 over) cricket, the average run rate has been increasing from around 4 when the format was first played in the 1970s to over 5 in recent years. Only England has ever scored at more than 9 runs per over, scoring at 8 or 7 is a good run rate, as there are 50 overs, and losing wickets is always a worry. In the 20 over

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, the average run rate is between 8 and 9 runs per over. This is the shortest format of the game and hitting out in this is a necessity. The highest run-rate ever has been around 13-14. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum possible run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as such, this has never happened in a completed match, and only happens in a single over very rarely.

Uses

The main use for run rate in limited overs cricket is to compare the run rate achieved by the batting team (runs scored per completed over) against the run rate required to win the game (runs required per overs remaining). Teams normally try to increase their run rate in the final overs. Fielding restriction rules, now known as Powerplays, are used by the cricket authorities to encourage faster scoring in the earlier part of the innings. As the game reaches a point closer to the end of the match it is common to switch from using run rate required to runs required from balls remaining (i.e., instead of saying a required run rate of 6 from 3 remaining overs, it is more common to say that they required 18 runs from 18 balls remaining). Before the advent of the Duckworth-Lewis method, run rate was one of a number of methods used to determine the winner of a game which had been curtailed due to rain or bad light (in the

Average Run Rate method The Average Run Rate (ARR) method was a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances. Often matches interrupted by weather ...

). It can also be used to separate teams in a league table with the same win–loss record, though that is usually done by the

net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

method.

References

{{reflist Cricket terminology Batting (cricket) Cricket records and statistics Rates

Values

Uses

See also

References