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How to keep a cricket scorecard

A cricket scorecard records every run, every wicket and every over of an innings. It has four parts, and once you know what goes in each one, keeping it is mostly a matter of writing down each ball as it happens.

The four parts of a scorecard

1. The batting card: one line per batter, in batting order.
2. Extras: runs that are not scored off the bat.
3. Fall of wickets: the team score each time a batter was out.
4. Bowling figures: one line per bowler.

Below each part is explained using the same short innings, so you can see how they fit together.

The batting card

Each batter's line records how they were out, the bowler credited with the wicket, their runs, the balls they faced, and usually their fours and sixes.

Writing how a batter was out

The dismissal is written in a short, standard form. The bowler's name follows b whenever the bowler is credited with the wicket.

• b Smith: bowled.
• c Jones b Smith: caught by Jones off Smith's bowling. If the bowler takes the catch, it's written c & b Smith.
• lbw b Brown: leg before wicket.
• st Keeper b Brown: stumped by the wicketkeeper.
• hit wicket b Brown: the batter knocked over their own stumps.
• run out (Jones): run out, with the fielder or fielders involved. The bowler is not credited with a run out.
• not out: still batting when the innings ended.

Counting balls faced

A batter faces every delivery bowled to them except wides. A no-ball still counts as a ball faced, even though it doesn't count towards the over. That's why balls faced across the whole card can be more than six times the number of overs.

Extras

Extras are runs that go to the team's total but not to any batter. They're listed by type:

Penalty runs, awarded for some fielding offences, go here too. For what each extra means and when it's charged to the bowler, see cricket extras explained.

Fall of wickets

Each time a batter is out, write down the team score at that moment and who went:

1–31 (Carter), 2–77 (Doyle), 3–128 (Ashby), 4–139 (Ellis)

Read 2–77 as "the second wicket fell with 77 on the board". The fall of wickets lets you work out partnerships later: the third-wicket partnership here was 128 − 77 = 51.

Bowling figures

Bowling figures are written as overs – maidens – runs – wickets.

• Overs are counted in completed overs plus balls: 7.4 means seven overs and four balls, not seven and four-tenths.
• Runs are the runs charged to the bowler: everything off the bat, plus wides and no-balls. Byes and leg-byes are not charged to the bowler.
• A maiden is a completed over in which no runs were charged to the bowler. Byes and leg-byes don't spoil a maiden; a wide or no-ball does.
• Wickets are the dismissals credited to the bowler, so run outs aren't included.

Three checks that prove the card adds up

At the end of an innings, or at any break, these three sums should all balance. If one doesn't, something was written down wrongly.

1. Batting runs + extras = total. 62 + 12 + 24 + 31 + 9 = 138, plus 10 extras, makes 148.
2. Bowlers' runs + byes + leg-byes + penalty runs = total. 48 + 39 + 30 + 24 = 141, plus 4 byes and 3 leg-byes, makes 148.
3. Bowlers' wickets + run outs (and any other non-bowler dismissals) = wickets down. 2 + 1 + 0 + 0 bowler wickets, plus 1 run out, makes 4.

A fourth check is useful when you're tracking balls faced: total balls faced equals six balls per completed over, plus balls in a part over, plus no-balls. Here that's 40 × 6 + 1 = 241, and 98 + 30 + 41 + 52 + 20 = 241.

Keeping track while play goes on

• Who's on strike: the batters swap ends after an odd number of runs, and the strike changes at the end of every over.
• Who's bowling: a bowler can't bowl two overs in a row. In limited-overs matches each bowler also has a maximum number of overs.
• Ball count: wides and no-balls don't count towards the six balls of an over, so an over can last seven, eight or more deliveries.

That's a lot to hold in your head while also watching the game. It's exactly the job a scoring app does for you. In Test Match Scoreboard you tap each delivery, and the batting card, bowling figures, extras and fall of wickets are filled in and always balance.

More guides: Cricket extras explained · How to read a cricket scoreboard · Scoring table-top cricket at home