How to Calculate Net Run Rate in Cricket: Formula and Example

Net run rate formula

Net run rate (NRR) compares the runs per over a team scores with the runs per over it concedes across the competition. The basic formula is: NRR = (total runs scored ÷ total overs faced) − (total runs conceded ÷ total overs bowled). A positive result means the team has scored faster than its opponents overall; a negative result means it has conceded runs faster than it scored.

Use the tournament’s official playing conditions when applying the formula. ICC playing conditions define NRR as the team’s average run rate for the group minus the average run rate scored against it. Local leagues should publish their own calculation rules before the first match.

Worked example across three matches

Suppose a team scores 140 in 10 overs, 90 in 10 overs and 120 in 10 overs. It has scored 350 runs in 30 overs, so its scoring rate is 350 ÷ 30 = 11.67 runs per over.

Suppose its opponents score 100, 100 and 120 in 10 overs each. The team has conceded 320 runs in 30 overs, so the opposition scoring rate is 320 ÷ 30 = 10.67. Its tournament NRR is 11.67 − 10.67 = +1.00. Keep the underlying totals and round only the final displayed figure.

NRR is based on combined tournament totals. Do not take the simple average of each match’s NRR: that can give the wrong result when innings have different lengths.

What if a team is all out before its overs finish?

In ICC playing conditions, when a side is dismissed before using its full quota, its NRR calculation uses the full quota of overs it was entitled to face. For example, in a 20-over match, an all-out innings after 16.3 overs is treated using the applicable 20-over quota for the NRR calculation, subject to that competition’s playing conditions.

This can change the result substantially. Do not enter only the balls used by an all-out side unless the tournament’s published rules explicitly require that method. Rain-affected matches, revised targets and abandoned or no-result games can have specific rules too; check the event rulebook rather than guessing.

How to read overs notation correctly

Cricket overs notation is not ordinary decimal notation. 19.4 overs means 19 overs and 4 legal balls, not 19.4 decimal overs. Convert balls to a fraction of six: 19 overs 4 balls = 19 + (4 ÷ 6) = 19.667 overs. If you maintain totals in balls, divide legal balls by six when converting to overs.

Avoid rounding each innings’ overs before adding them. Keep the exact legal-ball count where possible, then apply the format’s rules for all-outs and interruptions.

A practical NRR checklist for tournament scorers

Before the tournament, write down how the competition treats an all-out innings, rain-reduced games, revised targets and no-results. During each match, verify the final runs and legal balls from the scorecard. After the result is confirmed, add runs scored, overs faced, runs conceded and overs bowled to the team’s running totals.

Recalculate NRR from those cumulative totals, show the rounded value consistently in the points table, and keep the unrounded calculation available for tie-break checks. If two teams are level on points, use the competition’s published order of tie-breaks; NRR may not be the first rule in every local league.