What a Batting Average Actually Means in Cricket

The Formula

The batting average is calculated as Total Runs Scored ÷ Number of Dismissals. The key distinction from a standard arithmetic mean: not-out innings are excluded from the denominator. If a batsman scores 100 in three innings but is not out in the third (scores 100*, 0, 50*), their average is (100 + 0 + 50) ÷ 1 = 150.0. They have only been dismissed once, despite playing three innings. This is why batsmen who bat low in the order — and are frequently not out when their team's innings ends — often have averages that overstate their quality in a strict sense.

The not-out exclusion reflects a genuine logical principle: if a batsman was not dismissed, there is no information about where their innings would have ended. Excluding not-outs gives the average its meaning as 'expected runs per dismissal' rather than 'expected runs per innings.' However, it also creates distortions — a tailender who is not out 40 times in 50 innings (always stranded when the innings ends) will have an inflated average from the not-outs, even though they never actually batted for long.

What Different Averages Mean

At Test level: an average above 50 marks a genuinely world-class batsman — in the history of Test cricket, fewer than 30 players have sustained above 50 across significant careers (25+ Tests). An average of 40–50 is consistently good Test batting — the level required for a reliable middle-order batsman. An average of 35–40 is acceptable for a lower-middle-order bat or a specialist in difficult conditions. Below 30 as a recognised batsman is generally poor — the batsman is contributing fewer runs than they take up in the batting order.

At ODI level, the average thresholds shift slightly downward because the more aggressive batting required in limited-overs cricket (taking risks to maintain run rate) produces more dismissals. An ODI average above 45 is elite; 35–45 is very good; 25–35 is serviceable for a middle-order bat. In T20I cricket, the average is less commonly cited as the primary metric (strike rate matters more) — an average of 25+ with a strike rate above 130 is typically what selectors target for T20I batting specialists.

Don Bradman and the All-Time Record

Sir Donald Bradman's Test batting average of 99.94 is the most cited statistic in cricket history. The nearest rival among players with substantial careers is approximately 60 (Graeme Pollock, Adam Voges — though Voges retired before being exposed to leading attacks on challenging tours). Bradman's average is 65% higher than the second-highest of his era and 55% higher than the second-highest of all time. Statistical analysis consistently finds that this gap — more than two standard deviations above the mean for his era — is without parallel in any team sport.

The 99.94 is actually a statistical artefact of his final innings: had he scored 4 more runs in his last Test innings (he was dismissed for 0 against England at The Oval in 1948), his average would have been exactly 100. The knowledge that he needed only 4 runs for the century average, and that he was bowled by Eric Hollies second ball — the crowd cheered him to the crease, and he was reportedly moved to tears before facing — is one of cricket's most poignant historical moments.

Limitations of the Batting Average

The batting average does not capture several important dimensions of batting quality. It does not capture strike rate (how quickly runs are scored), which matters enormously in limited-overs cricket and increasingly in Tests. It does not capture consistency — a batsman who scores 0, 0, 0, 150 has the same average as one who scores 37.5, 37.5, 37.5, 37.5, but the latter is far more valuable because their contributions are reliable rather than sporadic. It does not capture match context — scoring 100 in a lost cause differs in match impact from scoring 40 in a match-winning chase.

The batting average also does not adjust for conditions. A batsman who averages 45 exclusively in benign home conditions on flat pitches is doing something different from one who averages 45 across all conditions including seaming English pitches and turning subcontinental surfaces. ERA-adjustment attempts to correct for this, but no single widely-adopted metric has replaced the average as the primary batting quality metric despite its known limitations.

Advanced Metrics That Supplement the Average

Several advanced metrics attempt to fill the average's gaps. The Batting Impact Score (used by CricViz) compares a batsman's runs in context to the expected runs for that match situation, pitch, and opposition — producing a 'value above average' metric that normalises for conditions. The High Score Rate (proportion of innings producing scores above 50) measures consistency. The 'Not Out Percentage' — the proportion of innings ending not out — allows adjustment of the batting average for tailender distortion. The 'away average' versus 'home average' split reveals home/away condition sensitivity.