How cricket scoring works — a beginner's guide

If you've ever opened a live scorecard and wondered what 128/4 (14.2 ov) actually means, this guide is for you. It explains, in plain English, how runs and wickets are counted, what the numbers on a cricket scoreboard represent, and how to read the live scores you'll find across TkaTak Sports. No prior knowledge assumed.

The basics: two innings, two jobs

A limited-overs cricket match is a contest between two teams. One team bats (tries to score as many runs as possible) while the other bowls and fields (tries to restrict runs and take wickets). After the first team finishes its innings, the teams swap roles. The side that scores more runs wins.

In a Twenty20 (T20) match each side bats for a maximum of 20 overs; in a One-Day match, 50 overs. Local and club games — the kind TkaTak Sports is built for — often use shorter formats such as 8, 10 or 16 overs a side.

What is an over?

An over is a set of six legal deliveries (balls) bowled by one bowler. That's why overs are written as a whole number and a fraction, like 14.2 — it means 14 completed overs plus 2 balls of the 15th over. When the sixth legal ball is bowled, the over is complete, a new bowler comes on, and the batters change ends.

How runs are scored

• Running between the wickets — the two batters run to swap ends. Each completed length counts as 1 run.
• Boundaries — if the ball reaches the edge of the field, the batting side scores 4 runs (the ball touched the ground on the way) or 6 runs (the ball cleared the boundary on the full).

A four and a six are the moments crowds live for — on TkaTak Sports they trigger the on-screen BOUNDARY and SIXER animations during live and replay coverage.

Extras: runs without hitting the ball

Some runs are awarded to the batting side without coming off the bat. These are called extras:

• Wide (Wd) — the ball is bowled too far from the batter to play a normal shot. 1 run, and the ball is re-bowled.
• No-ball (Nb) — an illegal delivery (for example the bowler oversteps). 1 run, the ball is re-bowled, and in most formats the next ball is a free hit.
• Bye (B) — runs taken when the ball passes the batter without touching bat or body.
• Leg bye (Lb) — runs taken when the ball hits the batter's body (not the bat).

How wickets fall

A wicket is when a batter is dismissed (out). A team has ten wickets in hand; when the tenth batter is out, the innings ends even if overs remain. The common ways to be out are:

• Bowled — the ball hits the stumps.
• Caught — a fielder catches the ball on the full after it comes off the bat.
• LBW (leg before wicket) — the ball would have hit the stumps but was stopped by the batter's leg.
• Run out — the fielding side breaks the stumps while the batters are still running.
• Stumped — the wicket-keeper removes the bails while the batter is out of their crease.

Reading a live scoreline

Put it together and a scoreline like 128/4 (14.2 ov) reads as: 128 runs scored, for the loss of 4 wickets, after 14 overs and 2 balls. Alongside it you'll usually see:

• CRR (current run rate) — the average runs scored per over so far. 128 runs in 14.33 overs is a CRR of about 8.9.
• RRR (required run rate) — when a team is chasing a target, the runs per over they still need. If the RRR climbs above the CRR, the chasing side is falling behind.
• Target & "need" — in the second innings, the runs required to win and the balls remaining, e.g. Need 42 off 34.
• Powerplay (PP) — early overs with fielding restrictions, when big scoring is easier.

The batter and bowler figures

A batter's score is shown as runs (balls) — for example Anurag 40 (28) means 40 runs from 28 balls faced. A bowler's figures are written as overs–maidens–runs–wickets, so 1.2-0-15-2 means 1.2 overs bowled, 0 maidens, 15 runs conceded and 2 wickets taken. A lower economy (runs per over) is better for a bowler.

How ball-by-ball scoring works on TkaTak Sports

Every match on TkaTak Sports is scored one delivery at a time by a person at the ground using our mobile app. Each ball updates the total, the batter and bowler figures, the over sequence of dots and boundaries, and the run rates — following the same ICC playing conditions used in professional cricket for extras, free hits and dismissals. That live data is what powers the scoreboards you see here on the web, along with synced video replays for completed matches.

Follow real matches

The best way to make all of this click is to watch it happen. Head to the live and recent matches and open any cricket game to see a full scorecard update ball by ball. Have a question we didn't cover? Check the FAQ or get in touch.