How Cricket Scoring Works: Runs, Extras, and All the Ways to Score
Cricket scoring involves runs from the bat, extras from the bowling side's errors, and various ways runs are added to the total. Learn how every run type is counted, what extras are, and how the scorebook tracks everything.
Cricket scoring seems complex at first but follows clear rules. Every run adds to the team's total but not every run goes to the batter's individual score. Extras — runs that don't come from the bat — are added to the total but credited to the bowling team's column, not any batter's record.
Ways to Score Runs from the Bat
- Running between wickets: both batters run to the other crease — each completed run adds 1
- Boundary four: ball reaches the boundary rope having touched the ground — 4 runs, no running required
- Boundary six: ball clears the boundary rope in the air without touching the ground — 6 runs
- Overthrow boundary: a misfielded throw goes to the boundary — the batter gets 4 extra on top of any runs already taken
- Hit wicket: if the batter hits their own stumps while playing a shot, they're out (but runs completed before are still counted)
Types of Extras
| Extra Type | What It Is | Goes to Batter's Score? |
|---|---|---|
| Wide | Ball too wide or high for batter to reach | No |
| No-ball | Bowler overstepped the crease | No |
| Bye | Ball passes bat and keeper — batters run | No |
| Leg-bye | Ball hits batter's body (not the bat) — batters run | No |
| Penalty runs | 5 runs for equipment violations or deliberate damage | No |
How the Scorebook Tracks Scoring
A traditional cricket scorebook has a row per batter and a column per ball. Each ball is coded: a dot for no run, a number for runs scored, 'W' for wicket, 'w' for wide, 'nb' for no-ball, 'b' for bye, 'lb' for leg-bye. Scorers update both the individual batter's tally and the team total with every ball. Electronic scoreboards now do this automatically from the official scorer's input.
How to Read a Cricket Score
A cricket score is written as: Runs/Wickets or Wickets/Runs depending on the country. 'India 287/4' means India scored 287 runs and lost 4 wickets. '4/287' is the Australian notation for the same score. The overs bowled are usually shown in brackets: '287/4 (45.2)' means 287 runs in 45.2 overs. The decimal is not a percentage — '45.2' means 45 full overs and 2 balls of the 46th over.
Frequently asked questions
What are extras in cricket?
Extras are runs added to the batting team's total that don't come from the bat — they include wides, no-balls, byes, leg-byes, and penalty runs. Extras are credited to the team total but not to any individual batter's score.
How many runs can you score on one ball?
On a single ball, a batter can score a maximum of 7 runs in theory: 3 runs running plus an overthrow four (3+4=7). In practice, 6 (a six over the boundary) or 7 (rare overthrow scenario) are the most runs possible.
What does 'dot ball' mean in cricket scoring?
A dot ball is a delivery from which no runs are scored. The term comes from the scorebook notation — a simple dot is recorded in the batter's scoring grid for that delivery. Dot balls are valuable to bowling teams as they create pressure.