This guide shows how to calculate batting average in cricket, why the formula divides by dismissals instead of innings, and how not-outs and retirements change the number. It ends with a practical question for club batters: what score do you need next time to move your average where you want it?
Quick Answer
Batting average is the number of runs a batter scores per dismissal. Add up all their runs, count how many times they were out, and divide the runs by the dismissals. A batter with 412 runs who was out 11 times averages 37.45. Not-out innings add runs but no dismissal, which is why an average is usually higher than runs divided by innings.
What Batting Average Measures
Batting average answers one question: how many runs does this batter tend to make before getting out?
It’s about reliability, not speed. A batter who averages 40 typically contributes 40 runs each time they’re dismissed, whether those runs took 30 balls or 130.
It’s also a career or season figure. A single innings doesn’t really have an average: you’d just quote the score.
Formula
Batting Average = Total Runs ÷ Number of Dismissals
- Total runs means runs credited to the batter across all their innings, including the runs from not-out innings. Extras don’t count.
- Dismissals means the innings in which the batter was out. The quickest way to get it is innings batted − not-out innings.
Batting average is a scoring convention, not something the Laws of Cricket define. Scorecards, statisticians and the Criko calculator all use the same runs-per-dismissal method.
Step-by-Step Calculation
Take a hypothetical club opener’s season: 412 runs from 14 innings, with 3 not-outs.
- Total the runs: 412, including the runs from the three not-out innings.
- Work out the dismissals: 14 innings − 3 not-outs = 11.
- Divide: 412 ÷ 11 = 37.4545…
- Round to two decimal places: 37.45.
The common mistake is dividing by innings instead: 412 ÷ 14 gives 29.43. That understates the batter by eight runs, because it treats three innings in which they were never out as if they had been.
Not-Outs, Retired Hurt and Retired Out
Most arguments about a club average come down to how a particular innings should be counted. This table covers the cases that cause them:
| How the innings ended | Runs count? | Counts as a dismissal? |
|---|---|---|
| Out (bowled, caught, run out and so on) | Yes | Yes |
| Not out at the end of the innings | Yes | No |
| Retired hurt or ill, and didn’t come back | Yes | No (recorded “retired – not out”) |
| Retired for any other reason, and didn’t come back | Yes | Yes (recorded “retired – out”) |
| Did not bat | No innings | No |
The two retirement rows come from Law 25.4 of the MCC Laws, and the ICC’s playing conditions use the same clause. A batter who retires through illness, injury or another unavoidable cause may resume. If they don’t, they’re recorded as “retired – not out”. A batter who retires for any other reason, such as a tactical retirement to bring in a quicker hitter, can only resume with the opposing captain’s consent. If they don’t come back, they’re “retired – out”, and that counts as a dismissal.
Many local tournaments write their own retirement rules (for example, a batter must retire on reaching 30). If yours does, agree before the season how those innings go into the averages, and write it down.
A worked example with a retirement
A middle-order batter’s nine innings: 34, 0, 51 not out, 12, 27 retired hurt, 8, 45, 19 and 3 not out.
- Total runs: 34 + 0 + 51 + 12 + 27 + 8 + 45 + 19 + 3 = 199.
- Not-outs: the 51, the 3, and the retired-hurt 27. That makes 3.
- Dismissals: 9 − 3 = 6.
- Average: 199 ÷ 6 = 33.17.
If the scorer had wrongly counted the retired-hurt innings as a dismissal, the average would come out at 199 ÷ 7 = 28.43.
Important Points
- A batter who has never been out has no average. Dividing by zero dismissals has no answer, so scorecards show a dash. Someone with 97 runs and no dismissals has an average that is “Not applicable”, however good those 97 runs were.
- Lots of not-outs can flatter an average. Picture a lower-order batter with 60 runs from 10 innings, 8 of them not out. That’s 2 dismissals, so the average is 30.00. As analysis, not a rule: those 60 runs came in short innings at the end, so the 30.00 says less about their batting than the opener’s 37.45 says about theirs. Look at the innings and not-out counts next to the average.
- A not-out can be the most valuable innings of the season. Say a batter in a two-day club match bats through the last 31.4 overs to save a draw and finishes 45 not out. In cricket notation, 31.4 means 31 overs and 4 balls, so that’s 31 × 6 + 4 = 190 balls bowled while they were in, not 31.4 × 6. They faced 104 of those balls themselves, a strike rate of 43.27. The average records only 45 runs and no dismissal, which is exactly what the innings was worth.
- Small samples swing hard. Early in a season, one big score or one duck moves an average a long way. Wait until there are at least 8–10 dismissals before reading much into it (this is a rule of thumb, not an official threshold).
- Compare like with like. Averages in a 10-over tennis-ball league, a 40-over corporate league and a two-day game measure different jobs. Compare a batter with players in the same format and the same batting position.
Another Example: What Your Next Innings Does to Your Average
Batting average lends itself to a question most club players have asked themselves: what do I need next time?
Go back to the opener on 37.45 (412 runs, 11 dismissals), who wants to reach 40.00.
If they’re out next innings:
- Dismissals become 12.
- An average of 40.00 over 12 dismissals needs 12 × 40 = 480 runs.
- Runs needed in the innings: 480 − 412 = 68.
Check: 480 ÷ 12 = 40.00.
If they finish not out next innings: the dismissals stay at 11, so every run lifts the average. An unbeaten 20 takes them to 432 ÷ 11 = 39.27.
The working is the same for any target: multiply the average you want by your new number of dismissals, then subtract the runs you already have. It also shows why one duck early in a season hurts so much: it adds a dismissal and no runs.
Batting Average vs Strike Rate
The two numbers measure different things, so they work best side by side.
| Batting average | Batting strike rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | How many runs before getting out? | How quickly are runs scored? |
| Formula | Runs ÷ dismissals | Runs ÷ balls faced × 100 |
| Not-outs | Raise it: runs count, no dismissal | No effect |
Say our opener’s 412 runs came from 338 balls faced. Their strike rate is 412 ÷ 338 × 100 = 121.89, alongside the average of 37.45.
Reading the two together (interpretation, not a rule): this batter scores a little faster than a run a ball and usually makes a solid start before getting out. In a short-format team, they could aim to grow either number. Which one matters more depends on the role their side needs from the top of the order.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate batting average in cricket?
Divide the batter’s total runs by the number of times they were out. For example, 412 runs with 11 dismissals is 412 ÷ 11, an average of 37.45.
Why is batting average not runs divided by innings?
Because the average measures runs per dismissal. In a not-out innings the batter wasn’t dismissed, so the runs count but the innings doesn’t add to the divisor. Dividing by innings would understate any batter who has finished not out.
Do not-outs increase your batting average?
Usually, yes. A not-out adds runs without adding a dismissal, so the average rises with every run scored in that innings. An unbeaten 20 takes 412 runs from 11 dismissals from 37.45 to 39.27.
Does retired hurt count as out?
No. Under Law 25.4 of the MCC Laws, a batter who retires through injury or illness and doesn’t return is recorded as “retired – not out”, so the runs count but there’s no dismissal. A batter who retires for any other reason and doesn’t return is “retired – out”, which does count as a dismissal.
What is the batting average of a player who has never been out?
There isn’t one. With zero dismissals, the division has no answer, so scorecards show a dash instead of an average. The runs are still recorded.
What is a good batting average in club cricket?
It depends on the format, the pitches and the batting position, so there’s no single benchmark. A fairer test is to compare your average with batters in the same league and position, and to read it alongside your strike rate.
Related Criko Tools
- Batting average calculator: enter total runs and dismissals to get your average instantly.
- Batting strike rate calculator: the other half of the picture, runs per 100 balls faced.
- Overs to balls converter: turns cricket notation such as 31.4 overs into balls.
Related Cricket Guides
- How to calculate run rate in cricket: the team-level scoring rate, and how overs notation works.
- How to calculate required run rate: what a chasing side needs from the remaining balls.
Conclusion
To calculate batting average, divide total runs by the number of times the batter was out, not by innings. Not-outs and retired-hurt innings add runs without a dismissal, while a retired-out innings counts as one. For a club batter, the most useful part is working backwards: multiply your target average by your next dismissal count to see the score you need.