About Test Match Scoreboard

How it started

My son loves everything cricket. So when the Australian test summer began this year, the Test Match board game came out of the cupboard, as it does every year, and we set up for a match or two.

Before we could bowl a ball I had to photocopy the official scoresheet, because we were running out. Then, once play started, I was the scorer, and I kept getting lost in the sheet. Who was on strike? Who was bowling? Did the batting runs, the extras and the bowling figures actually add up? Every over ended with me hunched over the paper doing arithmetic, trying to work out whether I had missed something, while the game waited for me.

And while I was adding up, my son would lean over and ask what the score was. Or who was on strike. Or who was bowling. All the things a scoreboard at a real ground would have told him at a glance, and all the things I was too busy counting to answer.

That was the start of this project.

What I built

Two screens. The laptop is laid out like a real scorecard, and a single tap records each delivery. The laws of cricket are applied for you: strike rotation, overs, bowler limits, extras, and dismissals with proper attribution. The totals always add up because they are never added by hand, and the end of an over takes no longer than the start of the next one.

The television shows a traditional tin-plate scoreboard that updates live as the match unfolds, with painted lettering, a ground clock, and a celebration when a wicket falls. Now when my son wants to know the score, or who is on strike, or who is bowling, he looks up. Nobody has to ask the scorer, and nobody has to photocopy anything.

What it is

• A ball-by-ball cricket scorer for test-format, limited-overs, and entirely invented house-rule matches, with a printable scorecard when stumps are drawn.
• A live scoreboard that anybody can open on a TV, tablet, or phone with a six-character match code. Spectators never need an account or an app.
• A companion for table-top cricket. It works alongside dice and card cricket games, including the classic Test Match board game, and it works just as well for backyard and driveway cricket.

What it is not

It is not an official product of any board game publisher. Test Match Scoreboard is a fan-made scorer and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Crown and Andrews. The name of that game appears here only because it is the game we play. No board game artwork, components, or rules content is included; the scorer applies the ordinary laws of cricket plus whatever house rules you configure.

It is also not a club or league scoring system. There are no player registrations, rankings, or statistics beyond the match in front of you.

How it is funded

The scorer is free to use. Scoring any standard format, the live TV scoreboard, shareable match codes, and printable scorecards do not cost anything and do not need an account. We may use ads to help support the running of the service.

There is an optional small unlock fee for some extras (I think its worth it): custom game rules, saved teams, resuming a saved game, editing any past ball, and removing every ad. It is not a subscription. The money goes towards keeping the servers running.

Bugs/Feature request and Feedback

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please use the contact page to report bugs, request features, or provide feedback.