Cricket Scoring Symbols: A Plain-English Guide to Scorebook Notation
Learn the common symbols scorers use in a cricket scorebook for dot balls, runs, boundaries, extras and wickets, with examples of how each is recorded.
A cricket scorebook records every ball of a match using a short code, so that anyone can later rebuild exactly what happened. There is no single compulsory system, and clubs, scorers and scoring software all differ in small details. The symbols below are the ones most widely understood, and they are enough to follow or keep a score at almost any level.
The basic idea
Each delivery gets its own small box or space in the bowler’s analysis and in the batter’s line. What goes in the box depends on what happened off that ball. Scorers also keep running totals for the team, the over, each batter and each bowler, so a mark that is wrong in one place will usually show up as a mismatch somewhere else.
Runs off the bat
- Dot ball: a dot (•) or a small filled circle means no runs were scored from the delivery.
- Singles, twos and threes: the number itself is written, for example 1, 2 or 3.
- Four: usually a 4, often circled or boxed so that boundaries stand out when scanning a page.
- Six: usually a 6, often circled twice or underlined, or sometimes drawn as a larger symbol.
- Five: rare, but possible when the batters run four and the ball is also a no-ball, or when an overthrow adds runs.
Extras
Extras are runs that do not come off the bat. They are credited to the team total but not to the batter, and some of them are charged to the bowler as well. Scorers normally use a letter code, sometimes with a number beside it when more than one run is taken.
| Extra | Typical symbol | Charged to |
|---|---|---|
| Wide | Wd, or a W with a ring or a cross | Bowler |
| No-ball | Nb, or a circle or triangle | Bowler (for the no-ball penalty and any runs off the bat) |
| Bye | B | Team only |
| Leg bye | Lb | Team only |
| Penalty runs | P or Pen | Team only |
A wide and a no-ball both add a run to the total and must be bowled again, so they do not count as one of the six legal balls in the over. Byes and leg byes are legal deliveries, so they use up a ball. Because each scorer’s style differs, it is worth checking the key printed in the front of any scorebook you are given.
Wickets and dismissals
A wicket is usually marked with a W, often with the type of dismissal written beside the batter’s name in the scorebook. Common abbreviations include the following.
- b: bowled
- c: caught, usually followed by the fielder’s name and the bowler, for example c Smith b Jones
- lbw: leg before wicket
- st: stumped, credited to the wicketkeeper
- ro: run out, with the fielder or fielders involved noted where known
- hw: hit wicket
- Other less frequent dismissals, such as obstructing the field or timed out, are generally written out in short form.
Run outs are credited to the fielding side rather than to the bowler, so the bowler’s wicket column does not increase. Retired batters are recorded separately from dismissals, and the way the scorer marks them depends on whether the batter retired hurt or retired out.
Combining symbols
Some balls produce more than one mark. A no-ball hit for four is recorded as a no-ball plus four runs off the bat, so the batter is credited with four and the bowler is charged five in total. A wide that runs away for four is recorded as a wide with four runs, and all of it is a wide extra; none of it goes to the batter.
Checking your totals
After each over, add the bowler’s runs and compare them with the change in the team total. At the end of an innings, the sum of the batters’ runs plus extras should equal the team total. The sum of the bowlers’ runs conceded should equal the team total minus byes and leg byes. If the numbers disagree, a stray extra or a mis-copied boundary is the usual culprit.
Online scoring apps and ball-by-ball commentary use their own icons, but they follow the same logic. Once the basics above are familiar, any scorecard becomes easy to read.
Frequently asked questions
What does a dot in a cricket scorebook mean?
A dot means a legal delivery from which no runs were scored. It still counts as one of the six balls in the over.
How is a no-ball written in a scorebook?
Many scorers write Nb or draw a circle or triangle in the ball’s box, then add any runs scored off the bat next to it. The exact marking varies, so check the scorebook’s key.
Are byes charged to the bowler?
No. Byes and leg byes are added to the team total as extras but are not charged to the bowler, whereas wides and no-balls are.