Batting average and strike rate
Change a batter's runs, balls faced and times out, and work out the batting average and the strike rate. Find out why one tells you how reliable a batter is and the other how fast they score.
Core concept
Batting average = runs ÷ times out (runs per dismissal); strike rate = runs ÷ balls faced × 100 (runs per 100 balls)
Topic: Maths in everyday life
Cricket scorers sum up a batter with two numbers. The batting average: Add all the values and divide by how many there are. Also called the mean. All key words is the runs scored for each time the batter got out: runs ÷ times out. A high average means the batter is hard to get out and scores many runs before losing the wicket. The strike rate is the runs scored for every 100 balls faced: runs ÷ balls × 100. A strike rate above 100 means more than a run a ball, which is what teams want in short T20 matches. Both are ratio: A way to compare two amounts, like 2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water (2 : 3). All key words: change the runs, the balls or the outs, and see which number moves.
What you will learn
- Work out a batting average and a strike rate.
- Explain what each number tells you about a batter.
- See how changing one quantity changes a ratio.
Before you start
- Know how to divide and how to find a percentage.
Materials
- A scorecard from a real match (optional)
Equipment
- None
Procedure
- Record the starting batter: 480 runs from 400 balls, out 8 times.
- Make the batter score the same runs from 200 balls, and record.
- Make the batter get out only 4 times, and record.
How this simulation is simplified
- Not-out innings are left out, so every innings counted ended in an out.