# Run rate > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Run_rate > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Run_rate.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_rate > Source revision: 1184269045 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Terminology used in the sport of cricket For the accountancy term, see [Run rate (accounting)](/source/Run_rate_(accounting)). Scoreboard showing Run rate achieved in the innings so far (5.4, that is, 204 ÷ 38), and [Run rate required](/source/Required_run_rate) from this point onwards to win (1.3). In [cricket](/source/Cricket), the **run rate** (**RR**), or **runs per over** (**RPO**), is the [average](/source/Arithmetic_mean) number of [runs](/source/Run_(cricket)) a batting side scores per [over](/source/Over_(cricket)).[1] It includes all runs made by the batting side in the [innings](/source/Innings) to that point of the game, both the runs scored by the batsmen and [extras](/source/Extra_(cricket)) conceded by the bowling team. ## Values What counts as a good run rate depends on the nature of the pitch, the type of match and the level of the game. A [Test match](/source/Test_cricket) held over five days typically has a lower run rate than a limited-overs game, because batsmen adopt a more cautious approach. In recent years, the average Test run rate has been between 3 and 3.5 runs per over, sometimes even lower[2] whereas in [limited overs cricket](/source/Limited_overs_cricket) the batsmen must adopt a more [gung-ho](/source/Gung-ho) approach in order to achieve the necessary score to win. In [One Day International](/source/One_Day_International) (50 over) cricket, the average run rate has been increasing from around 4 when the format was first played in the 1970s to over 5 in recent years. Only England has ever scored at more than 9 runs per over,[3] scoring at 8 or 7 is a good run rate, as there are 50 overs, and losing wickets is always a worry.[4] In the 20 over [Twenty20 International](/source/Twenty20_International) cricket, the average run rate is between 8 and 9 runs per over. This is the shortest format of the game and hitting out in this is a necessity. The highest run-rate ever has been around 13-14.[5] Without extras and [overthrows](/source/Overthrow_(cricket)), the maximum possible run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as such, this has never happened in a completed match, and only happens in a single over very rarely. ## Uses The main use for run rate in limited overs cricket is to compare the run rate achieved by the batting team (runs scored per completed over) against the [run rate required](/source/Required_run_rate) to win the game (runs required per overs remaining). Teams normally try to increase their run rate in the final overs. Fielding restriction rules, now known as [Powerplays](/source/Powerplay_(cricket)), are used by the cricket authorities to encourage faster scoring in the earlier part of the innings. As the game reaches a point closer to the end of the match it is common to switch from using run rate required to runs required from balls remaining (i.e., instead of saying a required run rate of 6 from 3 remaining overs, it is more common to say that they required 18 runs from 18 balls remaining). Before the advent of the [Duckworth-Lewis method](/source/Duckworth-Lewis_method), run rate was one of a number of methods used to determine the winner of a game which had been curtailed due to rain or bad light (in the [Average Run Rate method](/source/Average_Run_Rate_method)). It can also be used to separate teams in a league table with the same win–loss record, though that is usually done by the [net run rate](/source/Net_run_rate) method. ## See also - [Required run rate](/source/Required_run_rate) - [Net run rate](/source/Net_run_rate) - [Economy rate (cricket)](/source/Economy_rate_(cricket)) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Macintosh, Iain (2012). [*Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cricket But Were Too Afraid to Ask*](https://books.google.com/books?id=5xOqMrzglAoC&pg=PA120). [London](/source/London): [A & C Black](/source/A_%26_C_Black). p. 120. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781408174340](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781408174340). Retrieved 11 November 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Aggregate/overall records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com"](http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=year;orderbyad=reverse;size=200;template=results;type=aggregate;view=year). *Cricinfo*. Retrieved 2019-08-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["RECORDS / ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS / TEAM RECORDS / HIGHEST INNINGS TOTALS"](https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/211599.html). *ESPN CricInfo*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Aggregate/overall records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com"](http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=year;orderbyad=reverse;size=200;template=results;type=aggregate;view=year). *Cricinfo*. Retrieved 2019-08-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Aggregate/overall records | Twenty20 Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com"](http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=3;filter=advanced;orderby=year;orderbyad=reverse;size=200;template=results;type=aggregate;view=year). *Cricinfo*. Retrieved 2019-08-05. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Run rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_rate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_rate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.