GlossaryCricket
Run rate & required run rate
Run rate is runs scored per over; the required run rate is how many runs per over the chasing team still needs to win.
Run rate (RR) measures scoring speed — total runs divided by overs faced. When a team is chasing a target, the required run rate (RRR) shows the pace they must keep up with the overs remaining. If the required rate climbs well above the current rate, the chase is slipping away.
Worked example: Needing 60 runs from 8 overs is a required run rate of 7.5 an over.
See it in the numbers
Open the spreadsheet and watch this appear in live scores and standings — disguised as work.
Related terms
What is net run rate (NRR)?
Net run rate is cricket's main league tie-breaker: a team's runs scored per over minus the runs it concedes per over, across the tournament.
How to read a cricket scorecard
A cricket score like '248/4 (35.2)' means 248 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, scored in 35.2 overs — so 6 wickets are still standing.
What is an over?
An over is a set of six legal deliveries bowled from one end; '35.2 overs' means 35 complete overs plus 2 balls of the next.
Strike rate (batting)
A batter's strike rate is runs scored per 100 balls faced — a measure of scoring speed that matters most in the shorter formats.