Batting average vs strike rate: what each number tells you
Understand runs per dismissal and runs per 100 balls with a worked example, not-out effects and practical comparison rules.
Christian Baldwin · Updated 2026-09-29 · 3 minute read
Batting average measures runs per dismissal. Strike rate measures runs per 100 balls faced. They answer different questions, and neither can replace the other. A useful comparison keeps the format, role, opposition and sample size in view.
A worked example
Imagine a batter makes 40 not out from 30 balls, then 10 from 10 balls and is dismissed. Across those two innings the batter has 50 runs, 40 balls faced and one dismissal.
The batting average is 50 ÷ 1 = 50.00. The strike rate is 50 ÷ 40 × 100 = 125.00. Runs per innings would be 25, but that is not the conventional batting average. A not-out innings contributes runs without adding a dismissal.
Now imagine a second batter scores 30 from 20 balls and is dismissed in each of two innings. That player has an average of 30.00 and a strike rate of 150.00. The first batter has the higher average; the second scored faster. Deciding who performed better requires the match situation.
Why not-outs change the comparison
An unbeaten finisher may face few balls and be dismissed infrequently. An opener can face more deliveries, new-ball bowling and a larger share of the innings. Comparing their averages alone can reward opportunity and role as well as skill.
If a batter has never been dismissed in the chosen sample, runs per dismissal has no finite value. Showing zero would falsely imply poor performance; showing infinity would make an ordinary ranking misleading. CricChase uses an unavailable value until a dismissal exists.
A minimum-innings rule helps remove very small samples, but it does not equalise opportunities. Ten innings of five balls each and ten innings of fifty balls each are still very different bodies of evidence.
Aggregate the underlying numbers
Do not take a simple average of innings strike rates. Suppose a batter scores 10 from five balls in one innings and 40 from 40 in the next. The innings strike rates are 200 and 100. Their arithmetic mean is 150, but the combined strike rate is 50 ÷ 45 × 100 = 111.11.
The combined number weights each ball equally. That is what a career or season strike rate is intended to do. The same principle applies to bowling economy: add runs and legal balls first, then calculate the rate.
Use both numbers in context
In a chase with six runs needed from twelve balls, preserving a wicket while reaching the target can be more valuable than maximising strike rate. With thirty needed from twelve, scoring speed becomes much more urgent. The final scorecard does not capture every decision or difficulty.
For a first comparison, select one format and a similar period. Then inspect innings, balls faced and dismissals alongside average and strike rate. Consider batting position where available. A change in role can explain a statistical change without implying that a player suddenly became better or worse.
Put the comparison to work
Use player search to set a minimum sample and a season window. Open the individual player pages to inspect match histories, then compare those histories with the archive coverage.
A leaderboard is an invitation to investigate, not a universal ordering of cricket ability. Missing matches, different competitions and unequal roles remain important even when the arithmetic is correct. For bowling equivalents and other definitions, see the glossary.