Cricket formats explained

Cricket formats at a glance

Scoring is the same in all five: runs, extras, 10 wickets to bowl a side out, and a target of one run more than the other side's total. What changes is how long each side bats, how the bowling is shared and whether the match can be drawn.

How is Test cricket different?

A Test is the long form. Each side bats twice, there is no limit on overs, and the match is scheduled for up to five days. A captain can declare an innings closed to leave time to bowl the other side out. If the side batting first has a big enough lead after both first innings, it can make the other side bat again straight away, which is the follow-on: in a match of five days or more, the lead needed is 200 runs.

Because a Test is limited by time rather than overs, it can end in a draw: time runs out before the side batting last is bowled out or reaches its target. A draw is not a tie, which needs the scores level with the last innings complete. A side that wins without needing to bat a second time wins "by an innings and N runs".

ODI vs T20: what changes?

Both give each side one innings, with the same scoring and the same result wording. The differences are length and limits:

• Overs: 50 against 20, so 300 legal balls against 120.
• Bowlers: each may bowl one fifth of the overs, 10 in an ODI and 4 in a T20.
• Powerplays: three fielding phases in an ODI, one in a T20 (see below).
• Ties: a tied T20 international goes to a Super Over, one six-ball over each, repeated until one side wins. A tied ODI only does when the event's rules say so.
• Rain: the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method sets revised targets, and a result needs at least 5 overs a side in a T20 international and 20 in an ODI.

In both, the ball after a no-ball is a free hit. Wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes explains how that works.

What are powerplays in cricket?

A powerplay is a spell of fielding restrictions: only a few fielders may stand outside the 30-yard circle, which makes boundaries easier to hit. The limits in men's internationals and in The Hundred are:

• T20: at most 2 fielders outside the circle in overs 1 to 6, then at most 5.
• ODI: at most 2 outside in overs 1 to 10, 4 in overs 11 to 40 and 5 in overs 41 to 50.
• The Hundred: at most 2 outside for the first 25 balls.

Tests have no powerplay, and T10 leagues set their own.

What are T10 and The Hundred?

T10 is 10 overs a side, 60 legal balls. It is not an international format: the leagues that play it set their own powerplay and bowling limits, and the scoring is the same as a T20.

The Hundred is the ECB's men's and women's competition in England and Wales, first played in 2021. Each side faces 100 balls, bowled in sets of five with the ends changing every 10 balls, and the scoreboard counts balls instead of overs. The Hundred rules has the details.

How fast do teams need to score in each format?

The same total asks for a very different pace depending on how many balls the innings has. Here is 150 runs spread over a full innings in each limited-overs format, shortest first, with runs per over counted as six balls in every format so they compare:

For a chase in progress, the required run rate calculator does the same sum with the runs and balls you have left.