Bowling Average Calculator

Divide the runs conceded by the wickets taken. A bowler who has conceded 540 runs and taken 24 wickets has a bowling average of 22.50. Unlike a batting average, a lower number is better, because it means each wicket cost fewer runs.

No. Byes and leg byes are added to the team total but are not charged to the bowler, because neither came off the bat. Wides and no-balls are charged to the bowler, as are all runs scored off the bat from their deliveries.

In Test cricket, under 25 is very good and under 22 over a long career is the mark of an all-time great. In one-day cricket the figure runs a little higher because batting conditions generally favour the batter. In Twenty20 the average is less informative than the economy rate.

No. Run outs are not credited to any bowler, and neither are dismissals for obstructing the field or being timed out. Only bowled, caught, leg before wicket, stumped and hit wicket go into a bowler's wicket column.

Bowling average is runs per wicket and measures how costly it is to take one. Economy rate is runs per over and measures how costly it is to let a bowler bowl. A containing bowler can have a good economy and a poor average at the same time.

Yes. The figure is the price in runs of each wicket, so a smaller number means cheaper wickets. This is the opposite of a batting average, where a higher figure is better. The two statistics share a name and a formula shape and point in opposite directions, which is the usual source of confusion.

Less informative than you would expect, because a T20 bowler has four overs and a containing job. A specialist death bowler can have an unremarkable average and still be the most valuable bowler in the side. Economy rate is the first number to read in that format, with the average second.

The same way as for a career: divide the runs conceded in the match by the wickets taken in it. Four for 32 is an average of 8.00 for that game. A single-match average swings wildly and is rarely quoted, because one wicket either way moves it enormously.

Because they have taken no wickets, and the formula would divide by zero. A bowler who has conceded runs without a wicket has no average at all rather than an infinite one, and record tables show a dash. Their economy rate and strike rate still work, which is one reason all three are published together.