In
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, the run rate (RR), or runs per over (RPO), is the
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
number of
runs a batting side scores per
over. 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). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...
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 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 white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...
the batsmen must adopt a more
gung-ho approach in order to achieve the necessary score to win. In
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(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
Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
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). 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 method.
See also
*
Required run rate
*
Net run rate
*
Economy rate (cricket)
References
{{reflist
Cricket terminology
Batting (cricket)
Cricket records and statistics
Rates