In the first match of the season we had a potential disaster as the scorebook did not tally properly. We understand that we are all very inexperienced in this department, but we must get to grips with it.
To help with the area that causes most complication, i have constructed the following notes. Straight forward runs are easy to deal with, but the murky world of extras always cause problems.
These notes have been printed and laminated and placed at the back of the scorebook.
Here we go then:
SCORING:
Acknowledge
Clearly and promptly acknowledge all Umpires’ signals – if necessary wave a white card or paper if the Umpires find it hard to see you. Confer with Umpires about doubtful points at intervals.
Record
Always write neatly and clearly.
Check
Try to check that things add up.
HOW TO SCORE
Get into a regular routine. In basic scorebooks always record in THREE PLACES from the top of the page down. It is very important to ALWAYS record what happens in the same sequence and we would recommend from the top of the page to the bottom: ie: Runs to the batsman or extras, runs added to the score and runs against the bowler.
EXTRAS –
BYES:
This signal from the Umpire means that although the batsmen have crossed for a run(s) the striker did not hit the ball – the score is therefore recorded as byes.
- Enter (1) in the byes section of your page.
- Cross (1) off the cumulative score.
- Enter a dot (.) in the bowler’s analysis. This does not count as a run against the bowler.
LEG BYES:
This signal means that the ball hit the player’s body or pads – not his bat or the hand holding the bat.
- Enter (1) in the Leg Byes section of your page.
- Cross (1) off the cumulative score.
- Enter a dot (.) in the bowler’s analysis. This again does not count as a run against the bowler.
NO BALL:
(a) No ball recorded as a ONE RUN penalty if nothing else happens off the ball. (Law 24.12)
If the umpire calls and signals No Ball, the batsmen do not run, and there are no byes or leg byes etc:
Enter (1) in the NO BALL section of your sheet.
Cross (1) off the score.
Enter a dot with a circle around it (like a target) in the bowler’s analysis. THIS COUNTS AS ONE AGAINST THE BOWLERS FIGURES.
(b) No Ball recorded as a one run penalty when the batsmen scores runs:
If the Umpire signals No Ball but the striker hits the ball and runs are scored you record as follows:
- Enter (1, 2, 3 etc) in the BATSMEN’S analysis but circle the figure to show the runs were off a No Ball.
- Cross off the runs scored from the cumulative score, plus one run extra for the no ball penalty, ie if the batsman scores one, you record one to the batsman but TWO to the total score.
- Place a one (1) in the no ball section in extras.
- Enter the runs scored with a circle round the figures in the bowler’s analysis. The number of runs scored plus one for the no ball is added to the bowler’s cumulative account.
WIDE BALL:
(a) Wide recorded as a one run penalty if nothing else happens off the ball
If the Umpire calls and signals wide and the batsmen do not run.
- Enter (1) in the WIDE section of your sheet
- Cross (1) off the score.
- Enter a (+) in the bowler’s analysis.
THIS COUNTS AS ONE AGAINST THE BOWLER’S FIGURES
(b) Wide recorded when the batsmen complete run(s):
This counts as two wides. If the batsmen complete runs and the Umpire has signalled wide your entries should read:
- Cross off the runs completed plus ONE EXTRA from the cumulative score, ie if the batsmen complete two runs you record THREE to the cumulative score.
- Enter the same number of runs in the Wides section of your sheet (ie 1,2,3,4 – including the penalty run).
Enter the runs scored as wides with a (+²) in the bowler’s analysis – remember the symbol itself counts for one run. Therefore you write your symbol with a tiny number above it for whatever the batsmen have run. The completed number of runs PLUS ONE is added to the bowlers’ cumulative score.