Innings in Cricket — What Is an Innings and How Many Are There?
What an innings means in cricket, the difference between a team innings and a batter's innings, how many innings exist in Tests vs ODIs vs T20s, and declaration rules.
The word 'innings' — always used in this form, even for a single batting turn (not 'inning') — has two distinct meanings in cricket: the team's batting turn, and a batter's individual time at the crease. Understanding how innings work in each format is fundamental to understanding the game.
Team Innings
A team's innings is the period during which all 11 players take their turn to bat. An innings ends when 10 wickets fall (all 11 players cannot bat simultaneously — the last batter has no partner), when the batting team declares, or when the allotted overs are completed (in limited-overs formats). In Tests, each team has a maximum of two innings. In ODIs and T20s, each team has one innings.
Batter's Individual Innings
A batter's innings is their individual contribution during a team's batting turn. It begins when they first receive a delivery and ends when they are dismissed or when the team's innings ends (not out). A batter can score runs, face balls, and accumulate milestones (half-century, century) during their individual innings. A batter who carries their bat through the entire innings — never getting out while all other wickets fall — is said to have 'carried the bat'.
Innings in Test Cricket
In a five-day Test match, each team has a maximum of two innings. The teams alternate: Team A bats (1st innings), then Team B bats (1st innings), then Team A bats again (2nd innings), then Team B bats again (2nd innings). The team with the higher aggregate runs wins. If a team wins by making the other follow on and dismissing them before they can force a draw, it wins by an 'innings and X runs' (meaning the other team needed three innings to surpass the total).
Innings in Limited-Overs Cricket
In ODIs, each team has one innings of 50 overs. In T20 Internationals, each team has one innings of 20 overs. The team batting first sets a target; the team batting second either chases it successfully or falls short. There is no concept of a follow-on, declaration, or innings victory in limited-overs cricket.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Test match have more than four innings?
No — a Test has a maximum of four innings total (two per team). A follow-on means one team bats twice before the other bats a second time, but the total is still four innings maximum.
What does 'not out' mean at the end of a team's innings?
If a batter is at the crease when the team's innings ends (through 10 wickets or a declaration), they are recorded as 'not out' — their innings is incomplete but they retain their runs in the scorecard.
Is 'inning' correct?
Not in cricket. In cricket, 'innings' is always used, singular or plural (one innings, two innings). 'Inning' is the American baseball term. Cricket's Laws specifically use 'innings' throughout.