Cricket scoring: runs, wickets and overs
Scope: General scoring under MCC’s fourth edition (2026). Competition conditions can change targets and results.
Runs and boundaries
Batters score completed runs by changing ends while the ball is in play. A boundary allowance is normally four, or six when the ball has been struck by the bat and is first grounded beyond the boundary without touching the ground inside the field. A ball that was not hit by the bat cannot become a boundary six merely by going over the rope.
Extras
The total can include wides, no-balls, byes, leg byes and penalty runs. These are not all credited to the batter. Byes and leg byes have different conditions; a ball missing the bat does not always entitle the team to leg byes.
Reading a score
150/4 means the batting team has scored 150 runs and lost four wickets. Standard eleven-player cricket has ten wickets available, because two batters are needed to continue batting.
17.3 overs means 17 completed overs and three valid balls of the next over. It is not a decimal fraction. At six valid balls per over, that is 105 valid balls. Wides and no-balls add deliveries without advancing this ball count.
Innings endings and winning targets
An innings does not only end when ten wickets fall or an over allowance expires. Declarations, forfeitures and a lack of available batters can also matter. A match ends when the winning result is reached.
In a simple one-innings match without a revised target, a side chasing 151 against 150 wins when it reaches 151. Interrupted matches can use a revised target, and a timed match can finish as a draw even when the scores are different. Always read the result in its format.
Sources and review
Reviewed on against MCC Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, fourth edition (2026), Laws 13, 15–19 and 21–23. This is an introduction; the full rules and the regulations for your competition take precedence.