Run rate and required run rate, explained.

Run rate answers a simple question: how fast are the runs coming? There are two versions. Current run rate (CRR) is how fast a side has scored so far. Required run rate (RRR) is how fast they must score from here to win. Both are in runs per over.

5.2 is not 5.2

Cricket writes overs as overs.balls. So 5.2 means 5 overs and 2 balls. That is 5 × 6 + 2 = 32 balls. To use it in a calculation, turn it into a true number of overs: 32 ÷ 6 = 5.333. The number after the dot is balls, so it only ever goes up to 5. After 5.5 comes 6.0.

Current run rate

CRR = runs scored ÷ overs bowled (as a true number).

Example: a side is 54/1 after 5.2 overs. Overs as a number: 32 ÷ 6 = 5.333. CRR = 54 ÷ 5.333 = 10.13 runs per over.

Required run rate

RRR = runs still needed ÷ overs still to bowl (as a true number).

Example: in an 8-over match the first side made 98/3, so the chasing side needs 99. They are 67/1 after 6.0 overs. They need 99 − 67 = 32 runs from 2 overs (12 balls). RRR = 32 ÷ 2 = 16.00 runs per over. Another way to say it: 2.67 runs on every ball.

Compare the two numbers. If RRR is above CRR, the side has to speed up. In this example the side has been scoring at 67 ÷ 6 = 11.17, and now needs 16.

Projected score

A quick forecast: projected total = CRR × total overs. At 10.13 after 5.2 overs of an 8-over innings, the projection is 10.13 × 8 = about 81. It assumes the rate stays the same, which it rarely does. Real innings speed up at the end, so treat the projection as a floor, not a promise.

Common mistakes

• Using 5.2 as a decimal. Convert balls to overs first (balls ÷ 6).
• Forgetting the target is one more than the first total. If the first side made 98, the chasing side needs 99 to win, and 98 only to tie.
• Counting wides and no-balls as balls. They add runs but do not count as legal balls, so they do not use up an over.