Most disagreements in local cricket aren't about who played better — they're about the scoring. Was that a wide? Does a leg bye count to the batter? How many balls were left? This guide explains the cricket scoring rules that actually come up in a match, in plain language, so your scorecard stays accurate and dispute-free. If you're brand new, start with our beginner's guide to scoring a match first.
How runs are scored
Runs are added to the team total in three ways: runs taken by the batters running between the wickets, boundaries, and extras. A boundary along the ground is 4 runs; clearing the rope on the full is 6 runs. Runs off the bat are credited to the striker; extras are credited only to the team.
The five types of extras
Extras (sometimes called “sundries”) are the most misunderstood scoring rules:
- Wide: the ball passes outside the batter's reach. 1 run to the team, and the delivery is re-bowled — it does not count as one of the six balls in the over.
- No-ball: an illegal delivery — most commonly the bowler overstepping the popping crease, but also for above-waist full tosses and other breaches. 1 run, re-bowled, and in limited-overs cricket the next ball is usually a free hit.
- Bye: the ball passes the batter without touching bat or body, and the batters run. Runs go to the team, not the batter or bowler.
- Leg bye: the ball strikes the batter's body (not the bat) and they run. Again, team only.
- Penalty runs: awarded for specific infringements (e.g. fielding-side breaches); rare in local cricket but part of the Laws.
The practical trap: wides and no-balls add a run and must be re-bowled, so a careless scorer ends up with the wrong ball count. This is exactly the kind of bookkeeping a cricket scoring app tracks automatically.
How an over works
An over is six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls don't count toward those six, so an over with two wides is actually eight balls bowled. After the over, the bowling switches ends and a different bowler takes over. The same bowler cannot bowl two overs in succession.
Modes of dismissal and who gets credit
There are several ways to be out; these are the ones you'll actually record in local cricket:
- Bowled, Caught, LBW, Stumped: credited to the bowler.
- Run out: credited to no bowler — it counts as a wicket for the team but not the bowler's figures.
- Hit wicket: credited to the bowler.
A batter dismissed off a no-ball can only be run out (not bowled or caught), which is another reason recording the type of ball matters. The complete, authoritative definitions live in the MCC Laws of Cricket, and international playing conditions are set by the ICC.
Bowling figures explained
A bowler's figures are written as overs–maidens–runs–wickets, e.g. 4–0–28–2: four overs bowled, no maidens, 28 runs conceded, 2 wickets taken. A maiden is an over from which no runs are scored off the bat (byes and leg byes don't spoil a maiden, but wides and no-balls do).
Net run rate (for tournaments)
In league formats, teams level on points are separated by net run rate (NRR) — essentially runs scored per over minus runs conceded per over across the tournament. It's fiddly to calculate by hand, which is why CricFight's tournament tools compute the points table and NRR automatically.
👉 Let CricFight apply the rules for you — wides, no-balls, free hits, and figures handled automatically, free.
Frequently asked questions
Does a wide count as a ball?
No. A wide is re-bowled and does not count as one of the six legal deliveries in the over, but 1 run is added to the team total.
Do leg byes count to the batter?
No. Byes and leg byes are added to the team total only, not to the batter's individual runs or the bowler's runs conceded.
What is a maiden over?
An over in which no runs are scored off the bat. Byes/leg byes still allow a maiden; wides and no-balls do not.