Cricket scoring looks complicated until you see that almost everything comes from two sources: runs the batters score, and extras the fielding side gives away. This guide explains both, how a scorecard adds them up, and how a T20 match is decided.
The basics: runs, overs and wickets
A team’s score is written as runs for wickets, such as 168/6: 168 runs scored while six batters were dismissed. In a T20 match each side bats once, for a maximum of 20 overs of six legal balls each. An innings ends when the overs are used up, when the batting side is all out, or when the team batting second passes the target.
The team with more runs at the end wins. Wickets do not add or subtract runs. They simply limit how long a team can keep scoring, which is why a batting side balances speed against the risk of losing wickets.
How batters score runs
Running between the wickets
A run is scored when both batters cross and “make good their ground” at the opposite end while the ball is in play (Law 18.1.1). One crossing is one run, two is two runs, and so on. If a batter turns for another run without reaching the crease, the umpire signals short run and that run is not scored (Law 18.3 and 18.4).
Boundaries: four and six
If the ball reaches or crosses the boundary after touching the ground, the batting side gets 4 runs. If the batter strikes it and it lands beyond the boundary without first touching the ground inside, that is 6 runs (Law 19.7). Unless the umpires and captains agree otherwise, those values are fixed (Law 19.6.2). In general a boundary replaces the runs the batters were completing; an overthrow or deliberate act by a fielder is the exception, so runs already completed can count as well.
Who gets the runs
Runs off a ball struck by the bat are credited to the striker. Runs that do not come off the bat are scored as extras (Law 18.10), and the bowler is charged only with the striker’s runs, no ball extras and wides.
Extras: runs without a bat
Extras, also called sundries, are runs added to the team total that are not credited to any batter. They matter in close games, and in T20 a handful can decide the result.
| Extra | What happens | Runs | Charged to bowler? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | The ball is too wide for the batter to play. It does not count as a legal ball, so it is bowled again. | 1 penalty plus any runs the batters complete, all recorded as wides (Law 22) | Yes |
| No ball | An illegal delivery, for example a front foot over the line. The next delivery is a free hit in T20 internationals. | 1 penalty, plus runs off the bat to the striker (Law 21) | Yes |
| Bye | The ball passes the batter without touching bat or body, and the batters run. | Runs completed or a boundary, recorded as byes (Law 23.1) | No |
| Leg bye | The ball hits the batter’s body, not the bat, and the batter was playing at it or avoiding it. | Runs completed or a boundary, recorded as leg byes (Law 23.2) | No |
| Penalty runs | Awarded for breaches such as deliberate short running or, under the updated ICC conditions, repeated time-wasting. | Usually 5 (Law 18.6) | No |
What the free hit changes
In men’s T20 internationals the delivery after a no ball is a free hit. On a free hit the striker can only be dismissed in the ways that apply to a no ball: run out, hitting the ball twice, or obstructing the field. The ICC’s clause 21 sets out the full wording.
What happens to runs when a batter is out
Dismissals do not cancel the runs already scored. If a batter is run out, the runs completed before the wicket was put down still count (Law 18.8.2). A one-run penalty for a wide or a no ball also stands, even if a batter is dismissed on that delivery (Laws 21.15 and 22.6). The ways a batter can be out are covered in our cricket rules for beginners.
How to read a scorecard
The table below is invented to show the layout. It is not a real match.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batter A | 62 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 163.2 |
| Batter B | 41 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 151.9 |
| Batter C | 28 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 200.0 |
| Batter D | 19 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 158.3 |
| Batter E | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 133.3 |
Extras: 10 (b 2, lb 3, w 4, nb 1). Total: 168/6 in 20 overs, which is 158 off the bat plus 10 extras.
- Strike rate is runs scored per 100 balls faced: runs ÷ balls × 100. Batter A’s 62 off 38 is 163.2.
- Run rate is runs per over. A total of 168 in 20 overs is 8.40 an over.
- Economy rate is a bowler’s runs conceded per over. A bowler who concedes 32 runs in 4 overs has an economy of 8.00.
- Required rate is the run rate the chasing team needs from the remaining overs to reach the target.
The extras line shows how the total is built: byes and leg byes (b, lb), wides (w) and no balls (nb), plus any penalty runs (pen). To see a real one read line by line, try our scorecard explainer on Pakistan’s one-wicket win over England.
How a T20 match is decided
- Batting first wins: the chasing side falls short. The margin is in runs, such as “won by 12 runs”.
- Chasing wins: the second team passes the first team’s total. The margin is in wickets in hand, such as “won by 4 wickets”. The chasing side must pass the first team’s total, so matching it is only a tie.
- Tie: if the scores are level, many tournaments use a Super Over to find a winner. Whether and how it is used depends on the competition’s rules.
- Rain: if overs are lost, a revised target is set under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern in most professional competitions.
In group tournaments, runs scored and conceded then feed into the standings through net run rate.
Common mix-ups
- Counting wides as balls faced. A wide is not a legal delivery, so it does not count towards the six balls of an over.
- Charging byes to the bowler. Byes and leg byes go in the team total but not against the bowler.
- Confusing run rate with strike rate. Run rate is per over for a team. Strike rate is per 100 balls for a batter.
- Adding boundary runs on top of running. A boundary is normally four or six in total for that ball, not four plus the runs being run.
- Reading overs as decimals. 18.4 overs is 18 overs and 4 balls, not four tenths of an over.
Match scoring and fantasy scoring are different
Cricket scoring is set by the Laws of Cricket and the competition’s playing conditions. Fantasy points are set by each contest. A fantasy contest might give a batter points per run, a bonus for a boundary and extra points for a wicket, but the values differ from contest to contest. Extras go into the team total, yet they are not credited to any player, so they usually do not appear in a batter’s or fielder’s points. Always read the contest’s official scoring table.
Our fantasy scoring guide covers the common categories, and the how-to-play guide shows how scoring fits into a team-building routine.
Frequently asked questions
- How many runs is a boundary in cricket?
- A boundary is 4 runs if the ball reaches the rope after touching the ground, and 6 runs if the batter hits it over the rope without it touching the ground inside the field. Umpires and captains can agree different values, but 4 and 6 are the standard.
- Can you score off a wide?
- The batters can run, and every run completed is added to the total as wides, on top of the one-run penalty. A wide that reaches the boundary is worth 5 in total. None of these runs are credited to the batter.
- Do byes count against the bowler?
- No. Byes and leg byes are added to the team total but are not charged to the bowler. Wides and no balls are.
- What is the difference between a bye and a leg bye?
- Both are runs without the bat touching the ball. A bye is when the ball misses the batter altogether, and a leg bye is when it hits the batter’s body and the batter was playing at it or trying to avoid it.
- What happens when scores are tied in T20?
- Many tournaments use a Super Over to break the tie, but the exact method depends on the competition’s playing conditions.
Sources
Runs, short runs, penalty runs and who is credited: MCC Law 18, Scoring runs. Boundaries (Law 19), no ball (Law 21), wide ball (Law 22) and byes and leg byes (Law 23): the MCC Laws of Cricket. Free hit and no ball penalty in men’s T20 internationals: ICC clause 21. Time-wasting penalty runs: our ICC playing conditions explainer. The scorecard above uses invented numbers.