Cricket scoring: the rules, Duckworth–Lewis and a free scorer
Keeping the book in a limited-overs match means tracking every ball: runs off the bat, extras, who is on strike, each bowler's overs and how every batter got out. When rain arrives, someone also has to work out a fair new target. Our free cricket scorer does all of it on a phone: ball-by-ball scoring with full batting and bowling cards, and Duckworth–Lewis targets and par scores when overs are lost.
The format: overs, players and innings
- Each side bats once, for a set number of overs of six legal balls. The app defaults to 40 overs, a common club and league length, and lets you choose anything from 1 to 50.
- A team has 11 players as standard, and its innings ends when 10 wickets have fallen (one fewer than the number of players), the overs run out, or the side batting second passes the target. The app lets you set 2 to 15 players for short-handed or social matches.
- The side batting second needs one run more than the first side's total. Level scores at the end is a tie.
- Results are given by runs when the side batting first wins (the difference in scores), and by wickets when the chasing side wins (the wickets they still had in hand).
Runs and changing strike
- Runs the batters complete count to the batter on strike. An odd number of runs (1, 3, 5) changes the strike.
- A ball that reaches the boundary along the ground scores 4; over it on the full, 6. The batters stay at their ends.
- At the end of every over the bowling switches to the other end, so the strike changes.
Extras
| Extra | Runs to the team | Counts as a ball? | Charged to the bowler? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 1 (or 2 in some leagues), plus any runs the batters run | No, it is bowled again | Yes |
| No ball | 1 (or 2), plus runs off the bat to the batter | No, it is bowled again | Yes |
| Bye | Runs taken when the ball misses bat and body | Yes | No |
| Leg bye | Runs taken off the batter's body when trying to play a shot or avoid the ball | Yes | No |
In limited-overs cricket the ball after a no-ball is a free hit: the batter can only be out run out or obstructing the field. The free hit carries on if that ball is also a wide or a no-ball. The app shows a red free-hit banner and only offers those two dismissals.
How a batter can be out
| Dismissal | Credited to the bowler? | Off a wide? | Off a no-ball or free hit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowled | Yes | No | No |
| Caught | Yes | No | No |
| LBW | Yes | No | No |
| Stumped | Yes | Yes | No |
| Hit wicket | Yes | Yes | No |
| Run out | No | Yes | Yes |
| Obstructing the field | No | Yes | Yes |
- Since 2022, when a batter is caught, the new batter takes strike whether or not the batters crossed (unless it was the last ball of the over).
- Runs completed before a run out count.
- A batter who retires ill or injured is "retired not out", does not count as a wicket and may come back later. "Retired out" counts as a wicket.
Bowling limits
- No bowler may bowl two overs in a row.
- In most limited-overs cricket a bowler may bowl at most one fifth of the overs, rounded up: 10 in a 50-over match, 8 in 40 overs, 4 in a T20. If rain shortens an innings, the limit is worked out from the new overs. The app follows this automatically, or you can set your league's limit.
- A maiden is a completed over in which the bowler concedes no runs (byes and leg byes don't count against the bowler; wides and no-balls do).
Penalty runs
Umpires can award 5 penalty runs (Law 41), for example when the ball hits a fielding helmet left on the ground, for time wasting or for damaging the pitch. Runs awarded to the batting side go on their total straight away. Runs awarded to the fielding side are added to their completed innings or, if they have not batted yet, to their innings to come. During a rain-adjusted chase they are simply added to the target and the par score.
Rain: the Duckworth–Lewis method
Cutting the target in proportion to the overs lost is unfair: a side with 10 wickets in hand and 10 overs left can score far faster than its average rate. The Duckworth–Lewis method instead uses resources, the combination of overs left and wickets in hand. A team starting a 50-over innings has 100% of its resources. The table below is an extract from the Standard Edition table that the app uses:
| Overs left | 0 wickets down | 2 down | 5 down | 8 down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 100.0% | 85.1% | 49.0% | 11.9% |
| 40 | 89.3% | 77.8% | 47.6% | 11.9% |
| 30 | 75.1% | 67.3% | 44.7% | 11.9% |
| 20 | 56.6% | 52.4% | 38.6% | 11.9% |
| 10 | 32.1% | 30.8% | 26.1% | 11.4% |
So a 40-over innings starts with 89.3% of the resources of a 50-over innings, and a side 2 down with 20 overs left still has 52.4%.
How the target is worked out
- Resources for each side. Start from the resources for the overs the innings began with. For every interruption, subtract the resources lost: the resources left when play stopped minus the resources left after the overs were cut, for the same number of wickets down.
- If the side batting second has fewer resources (R2 less than R1): target = team 1's score × R2 ÷ R1, rounded down, plus 1.
- If both sides have the same resources: target = team 1's score + 1.
- If the side batting second has more resources: target = team 1's score + (R2 − R1)% of G50, rounded down, plus 1. G50 is the average first-innings score in a 50-over match at that level: 245 for first-class and full-member international teams and 200 at lower levels. Your league may set its own.
The par score is the same calculation without the +1, using the resources the chasing side has used so far. If play is abandoned during the chase, the side batting second wins if it is ahead of par, the match is tied if level, and otherwise the side batting first wins, by the difference from par. A result needs a minimum number of overs in the second innings (usually 20 in 40- and 50-over matches, 5 in T20s). With fewer overs the match is a no result.
Three worked examples
1. Overs lost before the chase starts
The Lions score 250 in 50 overs. Rain during the break cuts the Tigers' innings to 30 overs. R1 = 100%, R2 = 75.1% (30 overs, no wickets down). Target = 250 × 75.1 ÷ 100 = 187.75, rounded down to 187, plus 1 = 188 in 30 overs.
2. Overs lost during the first innings
In a 50-over match the Lions are 2 down after 30 overs when rain cuts both innings to 40 overs. They had 20 overs left (52.4%) and now have 10 (30.8%), so they lost 21.6%: R1 = 100 − 21.6 = 78.4%. The Tigers get a full 40-over innings: R2 = 89.3%. That is 10.9% more than the Lions had, so if the Lions finish on 250 and G50 is 200, the target is 250 + 10.9% × 200 = 271.8, rounded down to 271, plus 1 = 272 in 40 overs. The Lions planned for 50 overs and lost overs in the middle of their innings, when they had wickets in hand to accelerate, so the Tigers' target goes up.
3. Overs lost during the chase, then abandoned
Chasing 251 in 50 overs, the Tigers are 115 for 5 after 20 overs when rain cuts their innings to 40 overs. With 5 down they had 30 overs left (44.7%) and now have 20 (38.6%), losing 6.1%: R2 = 100 − 6.1 = 93.9%. New target = 250 × 93.9 ÷ 100 = 234.75, so 235 in 40 overs. After 25 overs they are 145 for 5 and it rains again for good. With 15 overs left at 5 down they still had 33.5% to use, so they had used 93.9 − 33.5 = 60.4%. Par = 250 × 60.4 ÷ 100 = 151. The Tigers are 6 behind, so the Lions win by 6 runs (D/L method).
The app shows R1, R2, the target and the live par score after every ball once overs have been lost, and lists each interruption with the resources lost on the scorecard.
Which version of Duckworth–Lewis is this?
The app uses the Standard Edition: the published resource table that clubs, schools and leagues can apply by hand, with part overs interpolated between whole overs. International and first-class matches use the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) professional software, which uses a different, unpublished set of resources, so its targets can differ by a few runs. For club, school and league cricket played under the Standard Edition, the app gives the same targets as the printed tables. For teams of fewer than 11, the app uses the table row for the same number of wickets in hand, which is how most social leagues adapt it. Always follow your competition's own playing conditions.
Scorer's checklist
- Before the toss, agree the overs, the number of players, the bowler limit, the runs for a wide or no-ball and whether free hits apply. For a league match, check its G50 and minimum overs for a result.
- Enter the team lists in batting order if you have them; otherwise add players as they come in.
- For every ball: choose any extra first, then tap the runs. Use Out for a wicket.
- When play stops for rain, tap Rain / interruption once the umpires announce the revised overs, not when the players leave the field.
- At the end, check the totals, extras and bowling figures add up, then save and share the result.
Glossary
- Over: six legal balls from one end by one bowler.
- Strike: the batter facing the bowler. The other is the non-striker.
- Run rate: runs per over. Required rate: runs per over the chasing side still needs.
- Economy: runs a bowler concedes per over.
- Strike rate: a batter's runs per 100 balls faced.
- Fall of wickets: the team score when each wicket fell.
- Resources: in Duckworth–Lewis, the share of a team's run-scoring potential still available, based on overs left and wickets in hand.
- Par score: the score the chasing side needs at that moment to be level on Duckworth–Lewis.
How to use the cricket scorer
- Enter the team names and, if you like, the players in batting order. Set the players per team, overs, bowler limit, wide and no-ball runs, free hits and the Duckworth–Lewis G50.
- Pick the two opening batters (the first one picked takes strike), then the bowler for each over.
- Record each ball: tap Wide, No ball, Bye or Leg bye first if needed, then the runs. 4 and 6 are boundaries. Strike changes, overs, maidens, free hits, milestones and the end of the innings are worked out for you.
- Tap Out for a wicket, choose how, and pick the next batter. Use Undo for mistakes and ⇄ Strike if the batters ended up at the other ends.
- If rain stops play, tap Rain / interruption and enter the new overs. The app works out the Duckworth–Lewis target and par score. If there is no more play, choose No more play and it decides the result on par, or declares a no result.
- The full scorecard is saved under My results and can be shared. Tap Scoreboard to show the score, batters, bowler and target on a TV, or use a stream overlay for a live stream.
These notes summarise the MCC Laws of Cricket and common limited-overs playing conditions for club cricket. Competitions set their own playing conditions, including bowler limits, free hits, G50 and the minimum overs for a result; follow your league's rules.