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STRIKE RATE IN CRICKET: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

What Is Strike Rate In Cricket?

Strike Rate is an important cricketing terminology that has multiple meanings concerning the role played by a cricketer. The strike rate is different from the batsmen and bowlers’ aspect. Strike Rate is always visible on the scorecard and is a crucial aspect to understand as it gives us an insight into the player’s caliber and abilities.

The following blog will cover all the essential points you need to know to get a brief detail about the strike rate. You will also get to know the methodology to calculate strike rate and some important questions and answers.

What does Strike Rate mean?

Strike Rate for a batsman represents an average of how many runs a batsman scores for every hundred balls he faces. Strike Rate is a number that can be attained through mathematical calculation. A higher strike rate for a batsman depicts that he is an aggressive batsman whereas a lower strike rate represents a defensive or a conservative batsman.

Strike Rate for a bowler is a figure that depicts the average number of deliveries a bowler takes to get a batsman out. A lower strike rate for a bowler is better in this case as he doesn’t need to bowl many balls to claim a wicket. A bowler with a lower strike rate can be a fierce pacer or a deviating spinner whereas a high strike rate bowler can be irregular or a slow bowler.

How is Strike Rate calculated?

Batsman

The strike rate for a batsman in a cricket match is calculated and attained by dividing the total number of runs that the batsman has scored by the number of deliveries the batsman has faced. After you attain a figure, multiply the answer by 100 to get the batting strike rate of a batsman.

Batting Strike Rate= Total Runs Scored / Total deliveries faced x 100

Example

• Virat Kohli scored 117 runs off 94 balls in a match against Pakistan.
• To calculate the strike rate, we first divide 117 (total runs scored) by 94 (total deliveries faced) which is equal to 1.2447
• We then multiply this figure by 100, which gives us the strike rate of Virat Kohli = 124.47.

The strike rate for a batsman can also be ascertained for his whole career. To find out the strike rate of the batsman’s whole career, you can use the above method to find your answer.

Example

• Sachin Tendulkar scored 18,426 runs in his career and faced 21,367 balls.
• The strike rate of Tendulkar will be 18426/21367 x 100.
• This gives us a figure of 86.24 that is the career strike rate of Sachin Tendulkar.

Bowler

The strike rate of a bowler is calculated by attaining a figure that is achieved by dividing the number of deliveries that the bowler has bowled by the number of wickets the bowler has taken. Unlike the batting strike rate, you need not multiply the answer by 100 as it is the final strike rate of a bowler.

Example

• Ravindra Jadeja claimed 3 wickets and bowled 15 overs in a match against England.
• To calculate the bowling strike rate of Jadeja, we divided the number of deliveries (15×6) by the number of wickets he has taken= 90/3.
• This gives us the bowling strike rate of Jadeja, i.e. 30.

Similarly, you can find out the career bowling strike rate of different bowlers through the same approach. The figures get complex but the answer won’t be wrong and will be accurate.

Example

• Zaheer Khan picked up 563 wickets in his career and bowled 29,248 deliveries.
• To find out the career strike rate of Zaheer Khan, you need to divide 29248 by 563 that will give you the answer 51.9.
• This means Zaheer Khan on average too of51.9 balls to get a batsman out.

Which batsmen have the highest batting strike rate in ODI cricket?

The ODI format is the fastest developing format of cricket where the batsmen score quick runs and possess a high strike rate. Here is the list of the international batsmen with the best career strike rate in ODI (more than 500 deliveries faced):

1. Andre Russel- 130.22
2. Glenn Maxwell- 123.37
3. Jos Buttler- 119.83
4. Hardik Pandya- 117.31
5. Lionel Cann- 117.06

It is to be noted that four cricketers on the list are yet to retire from international cricket. This means that their career strike rate is subject to change as they are going to actively participate in further ODI matches.

Who bowlers have the best bowling strike rate in Test cricket?

The bowling strike rate plays a crucial role in test cricket as picking wickets in a test match is a delightful achievement. Lower strike in test cricket shows the class and caliber of a bowler and how helpful he is to the team to pick regular wickets. Here is the list of best bowling strike rates in tests (minimum 2000 balls bowled and 100 wickets taken):

1. George Lohmann- 34.1
2. JJ Ferris- 37.7
3. Shane Bond- 38.7
4. Sydney Barnes- 41.6
5. Dale Steyn- 42.3

Q. What is the basic difference between bowling average and strike rate?

A. Bowling average and strike rate are two identical terms but have significant differences. Many cricketing youths are often confused between the two. To clear the doubt, bowling average means that how many runs a bowler concedes for every wicket that he takes whereas bowling strike rate refers to how many deliveries a bowler takes to get a batsman out.

Example

• Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets for 50 runs in 10 overs against Australia.
• Here, the bowling average of Bumrah will be 50/2= 25 whereas his bowling strike rate will be 60/2= 30.

Q. What is the difference between batting average and strike rate?

A. Another mystery is the confusion between batting average and strike rate. Batting average refers to how many runs on average a batsman scores for every innings that he plays whereas batting strike rate refers to how many runs a batsman scores on average for every 100 balls he faces in his batting career.

Example

• Yuvraj Singh scored 94 runs in 3 innings by facing 100 deliveries.
• Here, the batting average of Yuvraj will be 94/3= 31.33 whereas the strike rate of Yuvraj will be 94/100 x 100= 94.

Q. When was the concept of strike rate introduced?

A. The concept of strike rate has a long-dated history with the inception of cricket. However, the strike rate gained significant importance after the launching of One-Day International cricket. Since then, the strike rates of batsmen and bowlers are continuously tracked and monitored where the statistics are also used by the team management.

Q. Is it difficult to calculate strike rates?

A. Calculating strike rates is a tedious job as it requires complex mathematical calculations. If the data is readily available, it is easy to calculate the strike rate whereas if you need to discover data and find out the strike rates, it is a highly skilled job. The batting strike rate is relatively easy to find whereas finding a bowling strike rate is a complicated job.

Q. What is the ideal strike rate for a batsman?

A. The ideal strike rate for a batsman is subjective depending upon the role he is playing and the format of the game. For specialists batsmen, a strike rate over 100 is preferable in ODI and T-20 cricket. A strike rate below 100 but above 50 is considered to be ideal in test cricket. Bowlers generally have a lower batting strike rate.

Q. What is the ideal strike rate for a bowler?

A. The ideal strike rate for a bowler is also subjective depending upon the role and the format of the game. Generally, bowlers tend to have lower strike rates as they want to dismiss a batsman as early as possible. In ODI cricket, a strike rate between 30-40 is generally considered better whereas in test cricket it can range from 30-60.

Q. Is the Super Striker award in IPL related to strike rate?

A. The Safari Storm Super Striker of the match and the series is an award given to the batsmen with the best strike rate in a match and the entire series. It considers the batting strike rate of the batsman for a minimum of 20 balls faced in a match and 200 balls faced in the series. The strike rate of a batsman is calculated traditionally.

Conclusion

The strike rate is an age-old phenomenon and a crucial aspect of cricket. Strike rates determine the capabilities of batsmen and bowlers as it displays their standards of performance. The strike rate is an important tool for analysts to judge the overall performance of a cricketer. Career strike rates are depicted on popular cricketing websites like ESPN.

Also Read – Step-By-Step Guide On How To Become A Cricketer In 2021

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