Batting average (cricket)

In cricket, a player's batting average is the total number of runs they have scored divided by the number of times they have been out, usually given to two decimal places. Since the number of runs a player scores and how often they get out are primarily measures of their own playing ability, and largely independent of their teammates, batting average is a good metric for an individual player's skill as a batter (although the practice of drawing comparisons between players on this basis is not without criticism[1]). The number is also simple to interpret intuitively. If all the batter's innings were completed (i.e. they were out every innings), this is the average number of runs they score per innings. If they did not complete all their innings (i.e. some innings they finished not out), this number is an estimate of the unknown average number of runs they score per innings.

Each player normally has several batting averages, with a different figure calculated for each type of match they play (First Class, one-day, Test Matches, List A, T20, etc.), and a player's batting averages may be calculated for individual seasons or series, or at particular grounds, or against particular opponents, or across their whole career.

Batting average has been used to gauge cricket players' relative skills since the 18th century.

Values

International cricket career batting averages (as of 14 September 2019). Note Bradman's Test average of 99.94.

Most players have career batting averages in the range of 20 to 40. This is also the desirable range for wicket-keepers, though some fall short and make up for it with keeping skill. Until a substantial increase in scores in the 21st century due to improved bats and smaller grounds among other factors, players who sustained an average above 50 through a career were considered exceptional, and before the development of the heavy roller in the 1870s (which allowed for a flatter, safer cricket pitch) an average of 25 was considered very good.[2]

• All-rounders who are more prominent bowlers than batsmen typically average something between 20 and 30.
• 15 and under is typical for specialist bowlers.
• A small number of players have averaged less than 5 for a complete career, though a player with such an average is a liability unless an exceptional bowler as Alf Valentine, B. S. Chandrasekhar or Glenn McGrath were.

Career records for batting average are usually subject to a minimum qualification of 20 innings played or completed, in order to exclude batsmen who have not played enough games for their skill to be reliably assessed. Under this qualification, the highest Test batting average belongs to Australia's Sir Donald Bradman, with 99.94. Given that a career batting average over 50 is exceptional, and that only five other players have averages over 60, this is an outstanding statistic. The fact that Bradman's average is so far above that of any other cricketer has led several statisticians to argue that, statistically at least, he was the greatest athlete in any sport.[3]

Disregarding this 20 innings qualification, the highest career test batting average is 112, by Andy Ganteaume, a Trinidadian Keeper-batsman, who was dismissed for 112 in his only test innings.[4]

Batting averages in One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) cricket tend to be lower than in Test cricket because of the need to score runs more quickly. Consequently, batters tend to play riskier strokes and less emphasis is placed on building an innings in order to amass a high individual score. It should also be remembered, especially in relation to the ODI and T20I histograms above, that there were no ODI or T20I matches when Bradman played.

Interpretation

If a batter has been dismissed in every single innings, then this statistic gives exactly the average number of runs they score per innings.

However, for a batter with innings which finished not out, the true mean or average number of runs they score per innings is unknown as it is not known how many runs they would have scored if they could have completed all their not out innings. This statistic is an estimate of the average number of runs they score per innings. If their scores have a geometric distribution, then this statistic is the maximum likelihood estimate of their true unknown average.[5]

Batting averages can be strongly affected by the number of not outs. For example, Phil Tufnell, who was noted for his poor batting,[6] has an apparently respectable ODI average of 15 (from 20 games), despite a highest score of only 5 not out, as he scored an overall total of 15 runs from 10 innings, but was out only once.[7]

A batter who has not been dismissed in any of the innings over which their average is being calculated does not have a batting average, as dividing by zero does not give a result.

Leading male batting averages

Test matches

Sir Donald Bradman

See also: Highest career batting averages in Tests

Highest male career batting averages in Test matches as follows:

Rank	Batter	Tests	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	Test Career dates
1	Don Bradman	52	80	10	6,996	334	99.94	1928–48
2	Marnus Labuschagne	14	23	0	1,459	215	63.43	2018–present
3	Steve Smith	73	131	16	7,227	239	62.84	2010–present
4	Adam Voges	20	31	7	1,485	269*	61.87	2015–16
5	Graeme Pollock	23	41	4	2,256	274	60.97	1963–70
6	George Headley	22	40	4	2,190	270*	60.83	1930–54
7	Herbert Sutcliffe	54	84	9	4,555	194	60.73	1924–35
8	Eddie Paynter	20	31	5	1,540	243	59.23	1931–39
9	Ken Barrington	82	131	15	6,806	256	58.67	1955–68
10	Everton Weekes	48	81	5	4,455	207	58.61	1948–58

Source: Cricinfo. Table shows players with at least 20 innings completed. * denotes not out. Last updated: 8 January 2020.

First Class

See also: Highest career batting averages in First Class cricket

Highest career batting averages in First-class cricket as follows:

Rank	Batter	Matches	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	First Class Career dates
1	Don Bradman	234	338	43	28,067	452*	95.14	1927–49
2	Vijay Merchant	150	234	46	13,470	359*	71.64	1929–51
3	George Headley	103	164	22	9,921	344*	69.86	1927–54
4	Ajay Sharma	129	166	16	10,120	259*	67.46	1984–2001
5	Bill Ponsford	162	235	23	13,819	437	65.18	1920–34
6	Bill Woodfull	174	245	39	13,388	284	64.99	1921–34
7	Pathum Nissanka	27	50	6	2,817	217	64.02	2016–present
8	Shantanu Sugwekar	85	122	18	6,563	299*	63.10	1987–2002
9	K. C. Ibrahim	60	89	12	4,716	250	61.24	1938–50
10	Hanuma Vihari	76	120	15	6,282	302*	59.82	2010–present

Source: Cricinfo. Table shows players with at least 50 innings batted, note this table has no requirement for minimum number of runs scored. * denotes not out. Last updated: 30 November 2019.

One Day Internationals

See also: Highest career batting averages in ODIs

Highest career batting averages in One Day International cricket as follows:

Rank	Batter	ODIs	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	ODI Career dates
1	Ryan ten Doeschate	33	32	9	1,541	119	67.00	2006–11
2	Virat Kohli	248	239	39	11,867	183	59.33	2008–present
3	Babar Azam	74	72	10	3,359	125*	54.17	2015–present
4	Imam-ul-Haq	37	37	5	1,723	151	53.84	2017–present
5	Michael Bevan	232	196	67	6,912	108*	53.58	1994–2004
6	AB de Villiers	228	218	39	9,577	176	53.50	2005–18
7	Shai Hope	76	71	10	3,166	170	51.90	2016–present
8	Jonathan Trott	68	65	10	2,819	137	51.25	2009–13
9	Joe Root	146	137	21	5,922	133*	51.05	2013–present
10	MS Dhoni	350	297	84	10,773	183*	50.57	2004–present

Source: Cricinfo. Table shows players with at least 20 innings completed. * denotes not out. Last updated: 22 February 2020.

T20 Internationals

See also: Highest career batting averages in T20Is

Rank	Batter	T20Is	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	T20I Career dates
1	Virat Kohli	82	76	21	2,794	94*	50.80	2010–present
2	Babar Azam	38	38	9	1,471	97*	50.72	2016–present
3	Manish Pandey	38	32	17	707	79*	47.13	2015–present
4	Lokesh Rahul	42	38	6	1,461	111*	45.65	2015–present
5	Ryan ten Doeschate	22	22	10	533	59	44.41	2008–19
6	Jean-Paul Duminy	81	75	25	1,934	96*	38.68	2007–19
7	Aaron Finch	59	59	9	1,920	172	38.40	2011–present
8	Mike Hussey	38	30	11	721	60*	37.94	2005–12
9	Kevin Pietersen	37	36	5	1,176	79	37.93	2005–13
10	MS Dhoni	98	85	42	1,617	56	37.60	2006–present

Source: Cricinfo. Table shows players with at least 20 innings completed. * denotes not out. Last updated: 22 February 2020.

Alternatives

Alternative measures of batting effectiveness have been developed, including:

Strike rate

Main article: Strike rate

Strike rate measures a different concept to batting average – how quickly the batsman scores (i.e. average number of runs from 100 balls) – so it does not supplant the role of batting average. It is used particularly in limited overs matches, where the speed at which a batter scores is more important than it is in first-class cricket.

Player rankings

Main article: ICC Player Rankings

A system of player rankings was developed to produce a better indication of players' current standings than is provided by comparing their averages.

See also

• Cricket statistics
• Batting average
• Bowling average

References

1. Date, Kartikeya (29 May 2014). "The calculus of the batting average". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
2. Rae, Simon (1998). W.G. Grace: A Life. London: Faber and Faber. p. 26. ISBN 0571178553.
3. "Sir Donald Bradman". Players and Officials. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 27 April 2006.
4. "Andy Ganteaume | West Indies Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPNcricinfo". statsguru. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
5. Das, S. (2011). "On Generalized Geometric Distributions: Application to Modeling Scores in Cricket and Improved Estimation of Batting Average in Light of Notout Innings". Social Science Research Network. SSRN 2117199.
6. "The Jack of all rabbits".
7. "Phil Tufnell". Cricinfo.