verThe basics
An over is six legal deliveries. For every ball the scorer records three things: the runs (and who they belong to), any extras, and any wicket. From those come the batter’s runs and balls faced, the bowler’s overs, maidens, runs and wickets, and the team’s total.
Overs are written as completed overs and balls: 16.4 means 16 overs and 4 balls, not 16.4 of anything.
Extras: wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes
| Extra | Runs | Against the bowler? | Counts in the over? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 1, plus any runs the batters run, all as wides | Yes | No, it is bowled again |
| No-ball | 1, plus runs off the bat to the batter | Yes, the 1 and runs off the bat | No, it is bowled again |
| Bye | Runs run when the ball touches neither bat nor batter | No | Yes |
| Leg bye | Runs run off the batter’s body, when they tried to hit it or get out of the way | No | Yes |
| Penalty runs | 5, awarded by the umpires | No | Not a delivery |
A no-ball hit for four is five to the team: four to the batter, one no-ball extra, and five against the bowler. In most limited-overs cricket the next legal delivery is a free hit: the batter cannot be bowled, caught, LBW or stumped off it, though a run-out still counts.
A wide or a no-ball is not a ball faced by the batter. A bye or leg bye is, because the delivery was legal.
Wickets: who gets the credit
- Bowled, caught, LBW, stumped and hit wicket go to the bowler.
- Run out does not: it goes down to the fielders involved. It can be either batter, so check which one is out.
- Off a wide a batter can be stumped, run out or out hit wicket, but not bowled, caught or LBW.
- Off a no-ball or a free hit a batter can be run out, but not bowled, caught, LBW or stumped.
- A batter who retires hurt is not out and can come back. One who retires for any other reason can return only with the opposing captain’s consent, and otherwise goes down as retired out.
The scorer’s shorthand
| Entry | Meaning |
|---|---|
• or 0 | Dot ball: no run |
1, 2, 3 | Runs off the bat |
4 / 6 | Boundary four / six |
w | Wide |
w+1 | Wide, and the batters ran one more |
nb+4 | No-ball hit for four: five runs, and a free hit next |
1W | One run and a wicket |
W | Wicket, no runs |
Working out the figures
- Bowling figures are overs, maidens, runs and wickets, written 4-1-22-3.
- A maiden is an over in which the bowler concedes no runs. Byes and leg byes do not spoil it; a wide or a no-ball does.
- Strike rate (batting) is runs ÷ balls faced × 100. 48 off 33 is 145.5.
- Economy is runs conceded ÷ overs bowled, counting each ball as a sixth of an over. 22 off 4 overs is 5.50.
- Run rate is runs ÷ overs, and the required rate is the runs still needed ÷ the overs left.
- Net run rate for a season is (total runs scored ÷ total overs faced) − (total runs conceded ÷ total overs bowled). A side bowled out counts as having faced its full quota of overs.
Scoring it in the ThisOver app
- Start scoring on the fixture card. Setup is five quick steps: confirm the match, tick both elevens, set the overs per innings, flip the coin, and pick the openers and the bowler.
- Every ball is one tap. Wides and no-balls are under Extras (the free hit follows by itself), and Wickets asks how they got out, then the next batter. A run-out asks which batter is out.
- Made a mistake? Undo, or Actions, then Edit balls, to fix any ball in any over; the scorecard re-flows on its own.
- Players change. Player actions swaps the batter, changes the bowler or keeper, or retires a batter, out or hurt.
- No signal? It scores offline and publishes when the connection returns. If the phone dies, another admin can resume from the last ball.
- Rain? Actions, then Force stop, works out the DLS par score.
The scorecard, the over-by-over history and the commentary all come from the same balls, so they can never disagree. Scoring is free for every scorer.
Questions
Does a wide count as one of the six balls?
No. A wide is bowled again, so it does not count in the over, and it is not a ball faced by the batter. The penalty run, and any runs the batters run, go down as wides against the bowler.
Who gets the runs when a no-ball is hit for four?
The batter gets four, the team gets five (the four plus the one-run no-ball penalty), and all five count against the bowler.
Is a run-out credited to the bowler?
No. A run-out goes to the fielders who effected it, and it does not count in the bowler’s wickets.
Can a batter be out off a free hit?
Only in the ways they could be out off a no-ball, such as a run-out. They cannot be bowled, caught, LBW or stumped.
Do byes stop an over being a maiden?
No. Byes and leg byes are not charged to the bowler, so an over with only byes or leg byes is still a maiden. A wide or a no-ball is charged to the bowler and spoils it.
