Cricket Batting Statistics: How Batting Average, Strike Rate, and Other Stats Are Calculated
Batting average (runs divided by dismissals) is cricket's primary batting statistic — more useful than total runs because it normalises for innings count. Don Bradman's average of 99.94 is the most famous statistic in any sport. Strike rate (runs per 100 balls) measures how quickly a batsman scores. Understanding how cricket statistics are calculated — and their limitations — helps evaluate player quality properly.
Batting average explained: batting average is the most fundamental batting statistic in cricket. Formula: Batting Average = Total Runs Scored / Number of Times Dismissed. The key nuance: 'not out' innings are excluded from the denominator. A batsman who scores 100 in their first innings and is 50 not out in the second has a total of 150 runs with only 1 dismissal — average of 150.0. This means high averages can sometimes be inflated by many not-out innings (particularly for lower-order batsmen who often remain not out after a short cameo when the team is all out). For meaningful comparison: batting averages are most meaningful for players with 20+ innings, as small samples fluctuate widely. A genuine Test class average: above 40 is considered good; above 50 is excellent; above 55 is among the best; Don Bradman's 99.94 is completely outside the distribution of all other batsmen in history.
Don Bradman Average 99.94
Don Bradman's average of 99.94 — statistical perspective: Don Bradman's Test batting average of 99.94 (6,996 runs in 80 innings with 29 not outs = 51 dismissals) is the most extraordinary statistical outlier in sports. To contextualise: the next-highest career Test average by a batsman with 20+ innings is Graeme Pollock (60.97). The gap between Bradman (99.94) and Pollock (60.97) is 39 runs per innings — meaning Bradman consistently scored 39 more runs per dismissal than the second-best batsman in history, for his entire 52-Test career. Statistical models: if you plot batting averages across all Test history, Bradman's average is approximately 4 standard deviations above the mean for top batsmen — this is the equivalent of a basketball player averaging 60 points per game in a league where the best players average 30. No other sport has produced a performance gap as clear and sustained between one individual and the rest of the field.
Economy Rate for Bowlers
Bowling statistics — economy rate and bowling average: the two primary bowling statistics: (1) Bowling average = runs conceded / wickets taken. A bowling average of 25 means the bowler concedes 25 runs per wicket. Lower is better. World-class Test bowling averages: below 25 is exceptional (Glenn McGrath 21.64, Dale Steyn 22.95, Joel Garner 20.97); below 30 is very good; above 35 suggests the bowler is not regularly taking wickets efficiently. (2) Economy rate = runs conceded / overs bowled. For fast bowlers in Test cricket: economy rates of 2.0-3.5 are typical; anything above 3.5 is considered expensive. In T20I cricket: economy rates of 7-8 are average; below 7 is excellent; below 6 in death overs is outstanding. The strike rate for bowlers: (overs bowled × 6) / wickets taken — how many balls per wicket. A bowling strike rate of 50 (50 balls per wicket) in Tests is very good; 40 or below is exceptional. Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling strike rate of 55.0 (Test) is excellent for a spinner; Shane Warne's 57.4; Malcolm Marshall's 46.8 (fast bowlers typically have lower strike rates).
Cricket Rating Systems
Advanced cricket rating systems: beyond traditional statistics, several advanced rating systems have been developed to evaluate cricket performance: (1) ICC Player Rankings: the official ICC system weights recent performances more heavily than older ones, and adjusts for the strength of opposition. A century against India in India is worth more to the ranking than a century against Zimbabwe at home. (2) Win Probability Added (WPA): similar to baseball's WPA metric — measuring how much a player's actions improved or reduced their team's probability of winning. An innings of 80 in a match where the team was 30% likely to win that increases them to 70% likely to win is valued more than a decorative 80 in a match already won or lost. (3) Batting Impact Score: cricket analytics companies (like CricViz) have developed proprietary metrics that account for pitch conditions, opposition quality, and match situation to normalise batting contributions across different conditions. (4) Comparison issues: comparing statistics across eras is problematic — pitches, field restrictions, ball conditions, and match context differ enormously between Bradman's 1930s Tests and modern T20I cricket.
Frequently asked questions
How is batting average calculated in cricket?
Batting average in cricket is calculated by dividing the total runs scored by the number of times the batsman was dismissed (not the number of innings). Formula: Batting Average = Total Runs Scored / Number of Dismissals. The critical nuance: not-out innings are NOT counted in the denominator. If a batsman scores 90 runs in 3 innings (30, 10 not out, and 50), they have: 90 runs, 2 dismissals (the 10 not out doesn't count as a dismissal), average = 90/2 = 45. This treatment of not-outs can inflate averages — particularly for lower-order batsmen who often remain not out (because the innings ends through their partner being dismissed or the team being all out). For a complete picture, analysts sometimes consider both the traditional batting average AND an adjusted average that treats not outs as completed innings. Don Bradman's batting average of 99.94 is calculated as: 6,996 runs ÷ 70 dismissals (80 innings minus 10 not outs) = 99.94.
What is a good batting average in cricket?
What constitutes a 'good' batting average in cricket depends on the format: In Test cricket: above 40 is considered a solid Test batsman; above 50 is excellent (suggests regular significant contributions); above 55 is among the best batsmen in the world at any given time; above 60 is all-time great territory. Don Bradman's 99.94 is the untouchable pinnacle. Modern-era greats: Sachin Tendulkar averaged 53.78 in Tests; Ricky Ponting 51.85; Jacques Kallis 55.37; Steve Smith currently above 60. In ODI cricket: above 45 is excellent (ODIs require faster scoring so the risks are higher); above 50 is outstanding. Virat Kohli's ODI average of 58+ is exceptional — only Bradman's Test average significantly exceeds Kohli's ODI figure. In T20I cricket: above 35 is excellent (very short format with high dismissal risk from aggressive play); Chris Gayle's T20I average of 37 is very strong given his aggressive approach. The critical distinction: T20I batting averages are inherently lower than Test averages because the aggressive approach creates higher dismissal rates — comparing across formats without context is misleading.
What is bowling average in cricket?
Bowling average in cricket is calculated by dividing the total runs conceded by the total wickets taken. Formula: Bowling Average = Total Runs Conceded / Total Wickets Taken. A bowling average of 25 means the bowler concedes 25 runs per wicket taken. Lower is better — the best Test bowlers average below 25 (meaning they take wickets cheaply); average Test bowlers average 30-35; bowlers consistently averaging above 40 are unlikely to take wickets at a competitive enough rate to be retained in a Test squad. Career bowling averages for the greatest Test bowlers: Glenn McGrath 21.64 (750 wickets); Dale Steyn 22.95; Joel Garner 20.97; Malcolm Marshall 20.94; Curtly Ambrose 20.99 (notice: all five of these all-time great fast bowlers average below 23, representing the elite tier of Test bowling). In ODI cricket: good bowling averages are typically 25-30 (slightly higher than Test averages because ODI batsmen score more freely). In T20I cricket: bowling averages of 18-22 are excellent (given shorter innings, wickets are more valuable and averages can be lower despite fewer total balls bowled).