Bowling Economy, Average and Strike Rate Calculator
Bowling Economy, Average and Strike Rate Calculator
Three bowling rates from one set of figures: economy rate in runs per over, average in runs per wicket, strike rate in BALLS per wicket. Overs and balls are entered separately, because 9.4 overs is 58 balls and not 9.4.
Economy rate, bowling average and bowling strike rate
Runs per over47 runs conceded from 10 overs, 3 wickets
Three formulas, three questions
- economy rate
- runs conceded per over bowled, in runs per over. The question it answers is how expensive the bowler was. It does not mention wickets at all, so a bowler who takes none can still have the best economy rate in the match
- bowling average
- runs conceded per wicket taken, in runs. The question it answers is what each wicket cost. Lower is better, which is the opposite direction from a batting average on the same scale
- bowling strike rate
- BALLS bowled per wicket taken, in balls. The question it answers is how long the bowler takes to get one. Lower is better. A BATTER’s strike rate is runs per 100 balls, which is a different quantity in different units pointing the other way
- the identity between them
- average = economy rate × strike rate ÷ 6, exactly, because runs per wicket is runs per over times overs per wicket. Any two of the three fix the third, which is why a bowler cannot improve their average without improving either their economy or their strike rate
- balls, not overs
- an over is six legal balls (MCC Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, Law 17.1; ICC Men’s ODI and Men’s T20I Playing Conditions clause 17.1), so a figure reading 9.4 is 58 balls. Wides and no-balls are re-bowled and do not count towards the six (Law 17.3.3), but the runs they concede are charged to the bowler
- a maiden over
- an over off which no runs are scored — “when a bowler bowls an over that does not have any runs scored off it”, in the New South Wales Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association’s manual. The manual’s very next sentence is the part usually missed: “It can have byes and leg byes and still be a maiden as these are not scored against the bowler.” A bye or a leg bye does not cost a bowler the maiden; a wide or a no ball does, because those are debited to the bowler. Maidens are counted separately and do not enter any of the three rates above except through the runs they did not concede
Worked example
47 runs conceded from 10 overs, 3 wickets
Balls bowled = 10 × 6 + 0 = 60
Economy rate = 47 × 6 ÷ 60 = 4.70 runs per over
Bowling average = 47 ÷ 3 = 15.67 runs per wicket
Bowling strike rate = 60 ÷ 3 = 20.0 balls per wicket, which is three overs and two balls a wicket
The identity holds: 4.70 × 20.0 ÷ 6 = 15.67, the average again
Double the runs and the balls and the economy rate does not move: 94 from 20 overs is 4.70. Halve the balls and it doubles: 47 from 5 overs is 9.40
Set the wickets to zero and the average and strike rate disappear while the economy rate stays at 4.70 — a wicketless spell has a cost per over and no cost per wicket
Take a part-over: 47 from 9 overs and 4 balls is 58 balls, so 47 × 6 ÷ 58 = 4.86. Divide by 9.4 instead and you get 5.00, which is 2.84% too high
Three rates, four spells
| Figures | Balls | Economy | Average | Strike rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10–0–47–3 | 60 | 4.70 | 15.67 | 20.0 |
| 10–2–22–0 | 60 | 2.20 | no average | no strike rate |
| 4–0–48–4 | 24 | 12.00 | 12.00 | 6.0 |
| 9.4–0–47–3 | 58 | 4.86 | 15.67 | 19.3 |
| 20–5–40–2 | 120 | 2.00 | 20.00 | 60.0 |
The same two words in the two roles
| Strike rate | Counts | Unit | Better is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batter | runs per 100 balls faced | runs per 100 balls | higher |
| Bowler | balls bowled per wicket taken | balls | lower |
Why three rates rather than one, and what each one can hide
A bowling analysis is written as four numbers — overs, maidens, runs, wickets — and three rates can be read out of it. They answer different questions and they routinely disagree, which is why a page that computed only one would be the wrong page. The economy rate asks how expensive the bowler was: runs per over. The bowling average asks what each wicket cost: runs per wicket. The bowling strike rate asks how long a wicket took: balls per wicket.
The three are tied together exactly. Runs per wicket is runs per over multiplied by overs per wicket, so the bowling average equals the economy rate times the strike rate divided by six. On the worked example that is 4.70 × 20.0 ÷ 6 = 15.67, which is the average. The identity is useful as a check and useful as a fact about bowling: a bowler cannot lower their average without either going for fewer runs an over or taking wickets more often. There is no third route.
What each rate hides is the other two. A containing spell of ten overs for 22 and no wicket has the best economy rate in most matches and no average or strike rate at all, because the denominator is zero — and this page withholds both rather than printing a number, because runs per no wickets is undefined and not infinite. The reverse happens too: four overs for 48 and four wickets is expensive by any economy standard and has a strike rate of six balls a wicket, which wins matches. Neither spell is well described by one figure.
“Strike rate” means two different quantities in cricket, with different units, depending on whose it is. A batter’s strike rate is runs per 100 balls faced, so a higher number is better and a figure near 150 is brisk Twenty20 batting. A bowler’s strike rate is balls bowled per wicket taken, so a lower number is better and a figure near 30 is a good Test bowler. They are not on the same scale, they are not in the same units, and they do not move in the same direction. This is the commonest confusion in cricket statistics and it is worth checking which one a table means before comparing two numbers.
The part-over matters here more than anywhere, because a bowler’s figures are written in the same notation as the team’s and a bowler’s spell is short. An over is six legal balls — MCC Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, Law 17.1, and clause 17.1 of both the ICC Men’s ODI and Men’s T20I Playing Conditions — so a figure reading 9.4 is nine overs and four balls, which is 58 balls and 9.667 overs. Divide 47 runs by 9.4 and you get an economy rate of 5.00 where the truth is 4.86, which is 2.84% out. The error grows as the spell gets shorter, because the absolute error in the denominator is fixed at balls divided by fifteen of an over: on a four-over Twenty20 spell written 3.2 it is 4.17%, and at 3.5 overs it is 9.52%. Wides and no-balls are re-bowled and do not count towards the six (Law 17.3.3), but the runs they concede are charged to the bowler, so a wide raises the economy rate without lengthening the spell.
Two things that are not in any of these rates. A run-out is not credited to a bowler, nor is a batter retiring out, so a side can lose ten wickets with fewer than ten appearing in the bowling analysis. And byes and leg byes are not charged to the bowler, which is why a bowling analysis rarely adds to the team total. The batting side of the same arithmetic is on the batting strike rate and average calculator, and how many overs a bowler is allowed in the first place is a playing condition rather than a statistic — four in a Twenty20 international, ten in an ODI — set out on the powerplay and over limits interpreter.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate an economy rate?
Runs conceded divided by overs bowled, counted in balls: runs × 6 ÷ balls. 47 from 10 overs is 47 × 6 ÷ 60 = 4.70 runs per over. From 9.4 overs it is 47 × 6 ÷ 58 = 4.86, because 9.4 means nine overs and four balls.
What is the difference between a bowling average and a bowling strike rate?
The average is runs per wicket and the strike rate is balls per wicket. One says what a wicket cost, the other how long it took. They are linked by the economy rate: average = economy × strike rate ÷ 6.
Why does my bowler have no average?
Because no wicket fell. Runs divided by zero wickets is undefined, not infinite, so the figure is withheld — as it is in published records, which leave the column blank. The economy rate still exists, because it divides by balls rather than wickets.
Are wides and no-balls charged to the bowler?
The runs are; the balls are not. Law 17.3.3 of the 2017 Code says only valid balls count towards the six in an over, so the delivery is re-bowled, but the run it concedes goes into the bowler’s figures. A wide therefore raises an economy rate without lengthening the spell. Byes and leg byes are not charged to the bowler at all.
What is a maiden over?
An over off which no runs are scored — the New South Wales Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association’s scoring manual puts it as “when a bowler bowls an over that does not have any runs scored off it”. The manual’s very next sentence is the part usually missed: “It can have byes and leg byes and still be a maiden as these are not scored against the bowler.” A bye or a leg bye does not cost a bowler the maiden; a wide or a no ball does, because those are debited to the bowler. Maidens are the second number in a bowling analysis and do not enter any of the three rates on this page except through the runs they did not concede.
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References
- Marylebone Cricket Club. The Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code — Law 17.1, “The ball shall be bowled from each end alternately in overs of 6 balls”, and 17.3.3, only valid balls count towards the six. lords.org (read 12 Oct 2026). The MCC’s Laws index lists the current edition as the 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026), while the individual Law pages still carry a 2017 copyright line.
- International Cricket Council. Men’s ODI Playing Conditions, clause 17: The Over — 17.1, “overs of 6 balls”. icc-cricket.com (read 12 Oct 2026).
- New South Wales Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association. Cricket Scoring: The Basics and Beyond, revised February 2021 — an over is six legal deliveries, wides and no-balls excluded; “Maiden over — when a bowler bowls an over that does not have any runs scored off it”. The scorebook layouts in this manual are images and were not read. nswcusa.cricketnsw.com.au (read 12 Oct 2026).
- International Cricket Council. Men’s T20I Playing Conditions, clause 13: Innings — 13.6.1 (20 overs), 13.8 (overs reduced at 14.11 an hour), 13.9.1–13.9.2 (4 overs a bowler; one fifth, or 2 overs in a 5–9 over innings). icc-cricket.com (read 12 Oct 2026).
- International Cricket Council. Men’s ODI Playing Conditions, clause 13: Innings — 13.6.1 (50 overs), 13.7.2 (minimum 20 overs for a result), 13.9.1–13.9.3 (10 overs a bowler, one fifth of a reduced total). icc-cricket.com (read 12 Oct 2026).