Batting average (cricket)

Last updated September 18, 2023

In cricket, a player's batting average is the total number of runs they have scored divided by the number of times they have been out, usually given to two decimal places. Since the number of runs a player scores and how often they get out are primarily measures of their own playing ability, and largely independent of their teammates, batting average is a good metric for an individual player's skill as a batter (although the practice of drawing comparisons between players on this basis is not without criticism^[1]). The number is also simple to interpret intuitively. If all the batter's innings were completed (i.e. they were out every innings), this is the average number of runs they score per innings. If they did not complete all their innings (i.e. some innings they finished not out), this number is an estimate of the unknown average number of runs they score per innings.

Each player normally has several batting averages, with a different figure calculated for each type of match they play (first-class, one-day, Test matches, List A, T20, etc.), and a player's batting averages may be calculated for individual seasons or series, or at particular grounds, or against particular opponents, or across their whole career.

Batting average has been used to gauge cricket players' relative skills since the 18th century.

Values

International cricket career batting averages (as of 14 September 2019). Note Bradman's Test average of 99.94. CricketBattingAverageHistogram.png — International cricket career batting averages (as of 14 September 2019). Note Bradman's Test average of 99.94.

Most players have career batting averages in the range of 20 to 40. This is also the desirable range for wicket-keepers, though some fall short and make up for it with keeping skill. Until a substantial increase in scores in the 21st century due to improved bats and smaller grounds among other factors, players who sustained an average above 50 through a career were considered exceptional, and before the development of the heavy roller in the 1870s (which allowed for a flatter, safer cricket pitch) an average of 25 was considered very good.^[2]

All-rounders who are more prominent bowlers than batsmen typically average something between 20 and 30.
15 and under is typical for specialist bowlers.
A small number of players have averaged less than 5 for a complete career, though a player with such an average is a liability unless an exceptional bowler such as Alf Valentine, B. S. Chandrasekhar or Glenn McGrath were.

Career records for batting average are usually subject to a minimum qualification of 20 innings played or completed, in order to exclude batsmen who have not played enough games for their skill to be reliably assessed. Under this qualification, the highest Test batting average belongs to Australia's Sir Donald Bradman, with 99.94. Given that a career batting average over 50 is exceptional, and that only 4 other players have averages over 60, this is an outstanding statistic. The fact that Bradman's average is so far above that of any other cricketer has led several statisticians to argue that, statistically at least, he was the greatest athlete in any sport.^[3]

Disregarding this 20 innings qualification, the highest career Test batting average is 144 by Kurtis Patterson, who scored 144 runs and was dismissed once in his two Test innings. He then fell out of the Australian squad due to a loss of form and injury.

Batting averages in One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) cricket tend to be lower than in Test cricket because of the need to score runs more quickly. Consequently, batters tend to play riskier strokes and less emphasis is placed on building an innings in order to amass a high individual score. It should also be remembered, especially in relation to the ODI and T20I histograms above, that there were no ODI or T20I matches when Bradman played.

Interpretation

If a batter has been dismissed in every single innings, then this statistic gives exactly the average number of runs they score per innings.

However, for a batter with one or more innings which finished not out, the true mean or average number of runs they score per innings is unknown as it is not known how many runs they would have scored if they could have completed all their not out innings. In this case, this statistic is an estimate of the average number of runs they score per innings. If their scores have a geometric distribution, then this statistic is the maximum likelihood estimate of their true unknown average.^[4]

Batting averages can be strongly affected by the number of not outs. For example, Phil Tufnell, who was noted for his poor batting,^[5] has an apparently respectable ODI average of 15 (from 20 games), despite a highest score of only 5 not out, as he scored an overall total of 15 runs from 10 innings, but was out only once.^[6]

A batter who has not been dismissed in any of the innings over which their average is being calculated does not have a batting average, as division by zero does not give a result.^[7]

Leading male batting averages

Test matches

A batting average of above 50 is considered by many as a benchmark to distinguish between a good and a great batsman.^[8] Highest male career batting averages in Test matches as follows:

Rank	Batter	Tests	Innings	Not out	Runs	High Score	Average	Test career dates
1	Don Bradman	52	80	10	6,996	334	99.94	1928–48
2	Harry Brook	12	20	1	1,181	186	62.15	2022-2023
3	Adam Voges	20	31	7	1,485	269*	61.87	2015–16
4	Graeme Pollock	23	41	4	2,256	274	60.97	1963–70
5	George Headley	22	40	4	2,190	270*	60.83	1930–54
6	Herbert Sutcliffe	54	84	9	4,555	194	60.73	1924–35
7	Eddie Paynter	20	31	5	1,540	243	59.23	1931–39
8	Ken Barrington	82	131	15	6,806	256	58.67	1955–68
9	Everton Weekes	48	81	5	4,455	207	58.61	1948–58
10	Steve Smith	102	181	22	9,320	239	58.61	2010–23
Qualification for inclusion: 20 innings. Names in bold text are current players whose figures are likely to change. * denotes not out. Source: ESPNcricinfo. Last updated: 31 July 2023.

First-class

Highest career batting averages in first-class cricket as follows:

Rank	Batter	Matches	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	First Class career dates
1	Don Bradman	234	338	43	28,067	452*	95.14	1927–49
2	Sarfaraz Khan	39	58	10	3,559	301*	74.14	2014–23
3	Vijay Merchant	150	234	46	13,470	359*	71.64	1929–51
4	George Headley	103	164	22	9,921	344*	69.86	1927–54
5	Ajay Sharma	129	166	16	10,120	259*	67.46	1984–2001
6	Bill Ponsford	162	235	23	13,819	437	65.18	1920–34
7	Bill Woodfull	174	245	39	13,388	284	64.99	1921–34
8	Bahir Shah	39	65	14	3,220	303*	63.13	2017–23
9	Shantanu Sugwekar	85	122	18	6,563	299*	63.10	1987–2002
10	Pathum Nissanka	42	74	9	3,982	217	61.26	2016–22
Qualification for inclusion: 50 innings. Names in bold text are current players whose figures are likely to change. * denotes not out. Source: ESPNcricinfo. Last updated: 6 September 2023.

One Day Internationals

Highest career batting averages in One Day International cricket as follows:

Rank	Batter	ODIs	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	ODI career dates
1	Ryan ten Doeschate	33	32	9	1,541	119	67.00	2006–11
2	Shubhman Gill	33	33	6	1,739	208	64.40	2019-23
3	Dawid Malan	21	21	4	1,046	134	61.52	2019–23
4	Babar Azam	108	105	12	5,409	158	58.16	2015–23
5	Virat Kohli	280	268	41	13,027	183	57.38	2008–23
6	Rassie van der Dussen	49	43	10	1,874	134	56.78	2019–23
7	Temba Bavuma	30	29	4	1,367	144	54.68	2016–23
8	Michael Bevan	232	196	67	6,912	108*	53.58	1994–2004
9	AB de Villiers	228	218	39	9,577	176	53.50	2005–18
10	Jonathan Trott	68	65	10	2,819	137	51.25	2009–13
Qualification for inclusion: 20 innings. Names in bold text are current players whose figures are likely to change. * denotes not out. Source: ESPNcricinfo. Last updated: 17 September 2023.

T20 Internationals

Rank	Batsmen	T20Is	Innings	N.O.	Runs	Highest	Ave	T20I career dates
1	Sami Sohail	26	22	12	725	94*	72.50	2019–23
2	Virat Kohli	115	107	31	4,008	122*	52.73	2010–22
3	Muhammad Rizwan	85	73	16	2,797	104*	49.07	2015–23
4	Leslie Dunbar	21	20	6	659	117	47.07	2019–23
5	Suryakumar Yadav	51	49	10	1,780	117	45.64	2021–23
6	Manish Pandey	39	33	17	709	79*	44.31	2015–20
7	Muhammad Waseem	28	28	2	1145	112	44.03	2021–23
8	Navneet Dhaliwal	23	22	5	748	69*	44.00	2019–22
9	Devon Conway	41	38	8	1,248	99*	41.60	2016–23
10	Babar Azam	104	98	14	3,485	122	41.48	2016–23
Qualification for inclusion: 20 innings. Names in bold text are current players whose figures are likely to change. * denotes not out. Source: ESPNcricinfo. Last updated: 17 September 2023.