The result in cricket
Encyclopedia
The result in a game of cricket
may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game
, the game can also end with no result. Which of these results applies, and how the result is expressed is governed by Law 21 of the Laws of cricket
.
than the opposing side and all the innings
of the team that has fewer runs have been completed.
The side scoring more runs has won the game, and the side scoring fewer has lost. If the match ends without all the innings being completed, the result may be a draw or no result (see below).
, List of tied One-day Internationals
The result of a match is a tie when the scores are equal at the conclusion of play, but only if the side batting last has completed its innings (i.e. all innings are completed, or, in limited-overs cricket
, the set number of overs
has been played or play is terminally stopped by weather or bad light).
This is unusual, and in the history of Test cricket
has happened only twice:
In some forms of one-day cricket
, such as Twenty20
, a Super Over
is used to decide a result that would otherwise be a tie.
In limited overs matches, a draw is not a possible result (except in some amateur leagues where the league rules allow for such).
secure a draw as above - if they have scored fewer runs they have lost the game. A no result, therefore, occurs only when weather conditions stop play before the second team have batted enough overs to have a recalculated target under the Duckworth-Lewis method
or other rain rules. In One Day International cricket, one team needs to have faced fewer than 20 overs (of the allotted 50 for a match) for a match to be a no result.
.
Before July 2004, the same result occurred if the toss had been taken but the match was abandoned before a ball was bowled. Since 2004, the International Cricket Council
for International matches has decreed that a match where the toss takes place but which is abandoned without a ball being bowled is either a draw or (for a limited-overs match) a no result. Such games are now included in statistical records, counting, for example, as a game played by the teams and nominated players.
also have the power to award a match to one side where the other side either concedes defeat or in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play, in which case the game can be deemed to have been forfeited by the side in question. (Note that this is not the same as the (voluntary) forefeiture
of an innings under Law 14.) This power is very rarely used. Before this rule was introduced there had been cases in the international arena where one team has refused to play, or deliberately stopped playing for a while. One notable incident was when Sri Lanka
temporarily stopped play against England
when Muttiah Muralitharan
was called for throwing
by umpire Darrell Hair
.
The only time to date that a Test match
has been won in this manner is when umpires Darrell Hair
and Billy Doctrove
awarded England
the Fourth Test against Pakistan
on 20 August 2006 after Pakistan refused to take the field at the scheduled time after tea on the fourth day. This was because Hair alleged that Pakistani bowlers tampered the ball. He did not name a player involved in the incident. Later during the ICC general body meeting in 2008, the result was changed to "match drawn", and then in February 2009 changed back to an England win.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
, the game can also end with no result. Which of these results applies, and how the result is expressed is governed by Law 21 of the Laws of cricket
Laws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
.
Win and loss
The result of a match is a win when one side scores more runsRun (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
than the opposing side and all the innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
of the team that has fewer runs have been completed.
The side scoring more runs has won the game, and the side scoring fewer has lost. If the match ends without all the innings being completed, the result may be a draw or no result (see below).
Tie
See also: Tied TestTied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
, List of tied One-day Internationals
The result of a match is a tie when the scores are equal at the conclusion of play, but only if the side batting last has completed its innings (i.e. all innings are completed, or, in limited-overs cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
, the set number of overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
has been played or play is terminally stopped by weather or bad light).
This is unusual, and in the history of Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
has happened only twice:
- West IndiesWest Indian cricket teamThe West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
(453 & 284) tied with AustraliaAustralian cricket teamThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
(505 & 232) in 1960. - Australia (574-7d & 170-5d) tied with IndiaIndian cricket teamThe Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
(397 & 347) in 1986.
In some forms of one-day cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
, such as Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
, a Super Over
Super Over
A Super Over, sometimes referred to as an "Eliminator", or an 'Oopse' ,is one of two extra overs in a Twenty20 cricket match when the regular match ends in a tie. Instead of equally dividing the points between the two participating teams, the winning team of the "Super Overs" takes all the points...
is used to decide a result that would otherwise be a tie.
Draw
The result of a match is a draw if a match is concluded, as defined in Law 16, without being a win or a tie. This means that a draw occurs when a team does not complete its innings by the scheduled end of play. In matches where the number of overs is not limited, therefore, a team unable to win may be able to 'save the draw' by managing to not complete its final innings (i.e. by having batsmen left at the end of play who are 'not out'). The match is then drawn regardless of the total of runs accumulated by either side.In limited overs matches, a draw is not a possible result (except in some amateur leagues where the league rules allow for such).
No result
A no result is effectively the same as a draw,secure a draw as above - if they have scored fewer runs they have lost the game. A no result, therefore, occurs only when weather conditions stop play before the second team have batted enough overs to have a recalculated target under the Duckworth-Lewis method
Duckworth-Lewis method
In the sport of cricket, the Duckworth–Lewis method is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket or Twenty20 cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance...
or other rain rules. In One Day International cricket, one team needs to have faced fewer than 20 overs (of the allotted 50 for a match) for a match to be a no result.
Abandoned
A match can be abandoned if weather or other conditions prevent any play from occurring at all. If the bowler of the first over of play has not started his/her runup when the officials decide to abandon play then the result is termed 'abandoned without a ball being bowled'. Such a game is not included in official statistical recordsCricket statistics
Cricket is a sport that generates a large number of statistics.Statistics are recorded for each player during a match, and aggregated over a career. At the professional level, statistics for Test cricket, one-day internationals, and first-class cricket are recorded separately...
.
Before July 2004, the same result occurred if the toss had been taken but the match was abandoned before a ball was bowled. Since 2004, the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
for International matches has decreed that a match where the toss takes place but which is abandoned without a ball being bowled is either a draw or (for a limited-overs match) a no result. Such games are now included in statistical records, counting, for example, as a game played by the teams and nominated players.
Awarded
The umpiresUmpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
also have the power to award a match to one side where the other side either concedes defeat or in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play, in which case the game can be deemed to have been forfeited by the side in question. (Note that this is not the same as the (voluntary) forefeiture
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
of an innings under Law 14.) This power is very rarely used. Before this rule was introduced there had been cases in the international arena where one team has refused to play, or deliberately stopped playing for a while. One notable incident was when Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
temporarily stopped play against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
when Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
was called for throwing
Fair and unfair play
Law 42 of the laws of the sport of cricket covers fair and unfair play. This law has developed and expanded over time as various incidents of real life unfair play have been legislated against....
by umpire Darrell Hair
Darrell Hair
Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel...
.
The only time to date that a Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
has been won in this manner is when umpires Darrell Hair
Darrell Hair
Darrell Bruce Hair is an Australian former Test match cricket umpire, from New South Wales. He stood on the Emirates International panel of umpires from 2002 to 2003, before he, along with fellow Australian Simon Taufel, and New Zealander Billy Bowden, was appointed to the ICC Elite umpire panel...
and Billy Doctrove
Billy Doctrove
Billy Raymond Doctrove is a former international football referee, but is best known as an international cricket umpire.- Career as a FIFA referee :...
awarded England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
the Fourth Test against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
on 20 August 2006 after Pakistan refused to take the field at the scheduled time after tea on the fourth day. This was because Hair alleged that Pakistani bowlers tampered the ball. He did not name a player involved in the incident. Later during the ICC general body meeting in 2008, the result was changed to "match drawn", and then in February 2009 changed back to an England win.
Conceded
The laws of cricket allow a team to concede a match. This seldom happens, but it covers the situation where the scoreboard has in good faith displayed an incorrect score which is accepted by the “losing” team who leave the field, thereby conceding the match to the opposition.Statement of result
The result of a cricket match is stated in several ways:- If the side batting last wins the match without losing all its wicketWicketIn the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s, the result shall be stated as a win by the number of wickets still then to fall.
- For example – in a single-innings match, if Team A bat first and make 200 runs, then Team B make 201 after losing four wickets out of ten, Team B is said to have won by six wickets, regardless of how many batsmen Team A lost during their innings.
- If the side fielding last wins the match, the result shall be stated as a win by runs.
- For example – if Team A bat first and make 200 runs, but Team B make only 192, Team A is said to have won by eight runs.
- Note: If the side batting last has lost all its wickets, but as the result of an award of 5 penalty runs at the end of the match has scored a total of runs in excess of the total scored by the opposing side, the result shall be stated as a win to that side by penalty runs.
- In a two-innings match, if the number of runs scored in its first innings by the side due to bat last is greater than the total runs scored by the opposition in both its innings, the result is stated as a win by an innings and number of runs short.
- For example – if Team A bat first and make 200 runs in their first innings, Team B make 300 runs in their first innings, and Team A only make 95 runs in their second innings, Team B is said to have won by an innings and five runs.
- If the match is decided by one side conceding defeat or refusing to play, the result shall be stated as Match Conceded or Match Awarded, as the case may be.
- If a match is unfinished when time expires, the result is a draw (this does not apply to limited overs cricket).
- If all innings of both teams are completed (either because all batsmen have been dismissed or one/more innings are completed by way of a declaration) and the totals are exactly equal, the match is a tie.