Bowling average

The bowling average is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers in the sport of cricket. It is the ratio of runs conceded per wickets taken, meaning that the lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. The bowling average is commonly used alongside the economy rate and the strike rate to judge the overall performance of a bowler.Where a bowler has taken only a small number of wickets, their average can be artificially low, and an increase in wickets taken can result in large changes in their bowling average. Due to this, qualification caveats are generally applied to determine career records for bowling averages. After applying these criteria, George Lohmann holds the record for the lowest average in Test cricket, having claimed 112 wickets at an average of 10.75.

Calculation

A cricketer's bowling average is calculated by dividing the numbers of runs they have conceded by the number of wickets they have taken. The number of runs conceded by a bowler is determined as the total number of runs that the opposing side have scored while the bowler was bowling, excluding any byes, leg byes, or penalty runs. The bowler receives credit for any wickets taken during their bowling that are either bowled, caught, hit wicket, leg before wicket or stumped.