By SRTeam If you’re a fan of cricket, you have always heard a lot about strike rate, correct? Like, usually, when a batsman comes into play, they show you the stats on the screen and their career strike rate, among other things. And it is on a per match basis as well, like when the match is finished or the batsman got out, they show you how much was the strike rate of the batsman. But what exactly is it? And most importantly, how is the strike rate calculated in cricket? If you have been watching cricket for a while now, then you should get to know about it a little more, and today, we’re here with a complete yet simple calculator guide about strike rate. So, let’s just get to it.
So, What Exactly Is a Strike Rate in Cricket?
If we go with the simplest explanation possible, that would be something like this: It is a rate at which the batsman is striking the ball around the ground and scoring runs. Plain and simple! Like, let’s say you came in to watch a cricket match when it already started a while ago, but now you want to know how fast the game is going or how fast the batsmen are playing, that’s precisely where strike rate comes into play. This gives you a direct indication of how fast or slow the batsmen are scoring runs.
It is pretty simple and easy to tell as well, like if the strike rate number is higher, they’re scoring faster, and this fast strike rate becomes even more important in formats like T20s and ODIs because they’re the limited over formats and there is just limited time to score runs.
Here’s the Simple Math Behind Strike Rate
Among all the other stats, calculating strike rate is the simplest, to be honest. It is not rocket science at all. And here’s the basic formula you can use to calculate strike rate:
Strike Rate = (Runs Scored ÷ Balls Faced) × 100
Whenever you apply this formula, you get the number that is actually the batting strike rate. To keep it simple for you, you see, a strike rate of 100 means the batter scores one run for every ball they face. Easy, right?
Alright, Time For Some Real-Life Examples
So, let’s just put that formula in action, shall we?
Here’s a scenario where a batter has scored about 75 runs in just 50 balls. So, can you tell us how high the strike rate of that batsman is? As per the formula, the calculation will be something like this:
(75 ÷ 50) X 100 = 150 (Strike Rate)
This means the batter scores at a rate of 150 runs per 100 balls, and that’s just blazing fast!
Another example: so, let’s say a batter scores 32 runs off 48 balls. Divide 32 by 48 and multiply by 100, and you get a strike rate of about 66.67. Is this strike rate good? Well, that depends upon which format you’re looking at, though, generally, in T20s and ODIs, it is considered a slow strike rate.
Is Your Strike Rate Good or Slow? Let’s Find Out!
See, as we already told you, what’s considered a “good” strike rate really depends on the type of match or the format itself. Like, in test matches, you can always take your time and score as many runs as you can without worrying about your strike rate because you just have to put runs on the board without even thinking about how many balls you’re facing. So, in Test matches, a strike rate of around 50 to 70 is considered great, but even lower than that can be okay-ish.
In ODIs? Oh, well, in ODIs, you see the importance of strike rate because you’d have to score runs at a decent rate, or else your team will face the consequences. In ODIs, though, the strike rate of about 80 to 100 is considered pretty decent, and more than that is always super good.
And, T20s are always about strike rate, like, you have to make sure that you are hitting the ball around the ground and scoring the runs as fast as you can. But generally, a strike rate of 130+ in a T20 game is somewhat decent. More than that? Oh, no one is saying “No” to that.
To keep it simple:
- Test matches: around 50 to 70 is normal!
- ODIs: 80 to 100 is solid!
- T20s: 130+ is just fire!