Your guide to NRR at the T20 World Cup.
Cricket is a high-scoring game with runs, wickets and overs all in play at once. Which means, unlike football, the neat and tidy use of goal difference to separate teams level on points isn’t available.
Instead, cricket uses something called net run rate, which, even if rarely understood, is vital to be aware of when the group stages of the World Cup are coming to a close.
Don’t worry, it isn’t too hard to wrap your head around, but if after reading this you still want to leave the calculator to one side and let the commentators on TV do the maths for you, we won’t blame you.
RadioTimes.com has rounded up everything you need to know about net run rate at the Cricket World Cup
What is net run rate (NRR)?
To calculate net run rate, deduct a team’s average runs conceded per over from the average runs scored per over.
Teams with a higher net run rate are those who score more runs than they concede and vice versa. NRR is used as a tiebreaker if teams are level on points.
If a team is all out before it completes its overs, the ‘against’ run rate is calculated using the full 20 overs.
Using England’s first two completed matches from the last T20 World Cup as an example:
Runs for
- England 113/5 – 18 overs and 1 ball (v Afghanistan)
- England 179/6 – 20 overs (v New Zealand)
- England runs scored = 113 + 179 = 292 in 38.166
- England’s runs per over (for) = 292 ÷ 38.166 = 7.65
Runs against
- Afghanistan 112 all out – 19.4 overs(v England)
- New Zealand 159/6 – 20 overs (v England)
- England runs against = 112 + 159 = 271 in 40 overs
- England’s runs per over (against) = 6.78
Overall
- England’s net run rate = 7.65 – 6.78 = 0.87 NRR
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