List of Cricket Statistics
Every sport is inherently competitive, and the competition that exists within them is a fundamental aspect as to what makes sports enjoyable. This not only refers to whether or not a team wins their games or not, but exists on individual levels, as it is important to judge the overall ability of individual players. This is true for all team sports, including cricket. Below are a list of facts and statistics related to the sport of Cricket.
List of Cricket Statistics
Matches
This is the number of matches a player has played in over a certain period of time. This may seem like an obsolete measurement when it comes to analyzing how good any particular player is, however it is important to see how frequently each player plays in order to make sense of the rest of the measured statistics. For example, if one player played in 50 matches, and another played in 100, and they both scored the same amount of runs, then it would be apparent from the number of matches that the first player is better at scoring runs.
Innings
This is a similar statistic to matches, however, the innings statistic goes more in depth. This is a statistic specific to batsmen, and tracks the number of innings that a batter actually bats. This helps differentiate between players that get more opportunities to bat within a match than those who do not.
Not Outs
This is once again a statistic exclusive to batsmen. This statistic measures how many times a batsman could avoid being out by the time that the innings they batted in were over. In other words, it is the number of innings a batsman batted in without ever getting out. This is an important statistic, as a batsman that is able to frequently bat in innings without ever getting out in said innings is generally better than one that is rarely ever able to end an inning without getting out. However, there are many more statistics that factor into whether one player is actually better than another.
Runs (Batsmen)
This statistic is one of the most important statistics that are exclusive to batsmen. Runs are the points that determine which team wins in a cricket match, and so a player that scores many runs for their team consistently is a valuable player, and so would be considered a good batsman for their team in terms of ability. In terms of statistics to measure whether or not a player is good at batting, this would be one of the best indicators.
Highest Score
This statistic is a good measure of a batsman’s potential, as even if a player is not performing consistently well, they may have one breakout game that shows their true potential when they are at their best. This statistic is a measure of the highest score a batsman has ever managed.
4’s
This is a special indicator of how frequently a player manages to score a 4. A 4 in cricket is when a batsman hits the ball to the boundary after it bounces, and automatically counts for four points. This statistic is similar to a ground rule double in baseball.
6’s
This is another special indicator, this time of how frequently a player manages to score a 6. A 6 is when a batsman hits the ball to the boundary without it bouncing first in cricket. This counts as an automatic 6 runs, and is comparable to a home run in baseball.
Batting Average
This, along with runs, is one of the most important statistics when analyzing the overall ability of a batsman. In cricket, the batting average is the number of runs scored by a player, divided by the number of outs that player has. This is an extremely important statistic when it comes to consistency, as it is much easier to rely on a consistent player than an inconsistent player.
Centuries
This is a statistic that measures how frequently a batsman can perform a feat known as a century. In cricket, a century is when a player scores 100 or more runs in a single inning; this statistic measures how many times a player has managed to score a century.
Half-Centuries
This is a similar statistic to centuries. In cricket, a half-century is when a player scores anywhere from 50 to 99 runs in a single inning. This statistic is a measure of how many times a player has managed to score a half-century.
Balls Faced
This is a statistic similar to matches and innings, because while there may be no direct implication of a player’s skill, it is important to have this statistic in order to make more sense of other statistics. This is a measure of how many balls the batsman received from the bowler.
Strike Rate
This statistic measures the consistency of a batsman within the context of how many balls they have faced. This statistic measures the average number of runs a batsman scores per every 100 balls faced. It is an important statistic to consider when analyzing a batsman’s ability, as a huge factor in their consistency to score runs.
Overs
This is the first statistic listed that is exclusive to bowlers. An over in cricket is a set of 6 consecutive legal deliveries by a bowler, after which the bowler is switched out with another fielding player for the next over. This is not an especially indicative statistic when it comes to a bowler’s ability to keep batsmen from scoring, but it is similar to innings in which it measures how often within a match a bowler gets the opportunity to bowl.
Balls
This is a statistic that is measured for the same purpose as overs. Overs are more traditional to the sport of cricket, however the balls statistic measures the number of balls bowled by a bowler, making it a simpler statistic to understand compared to overs.
Maiden Overs
A maiden over is something of a “perfect” over for a bowler. This is the number of overs a bowler completed without conceding a single run. This is a highly important statistic to consider when analyzing the ability of a bowler, especially when compared to their total overs, as a maiden over is an impressive and valuable feat in cricket, similar to centuries or half-centuries for a batsman.
Wickets
This is one of the most important statistics for bowlers, as it is the measure of the amount of times a batsman is dismissed, or out, due to the bowler. This is similar to runs for batsmen, as it is the key statistic that measures the ability and success so far of a bowler.
Runs (Bowler)
This statistic may seem familiar, as it was discussed earlier within the context of batsmen. However, within the context of bowlers, this statistic indicates the opposite. While the runs statistic measures the number of runs scored for batsmen, it measures runs conceded for bowlers, meaning the more runs conceded a bowler has, the worse that bowler is. The entire purpose of a bowler is to prevent the batting team from scoring runs, so a bowler that has many runs conceded is an unsuccessful bowler.
Bowling Average
Similar to the batting average for batsmen, this statistic measures the consistency of a bowler. Bowling average in cricket is a measurement of the average number of runs conceded per every wicket taken by the bowler. This, like runs conceded, is better for the bowler when this statistic is low, and worse when the statistic is high.