Cricket is a global sport where two teams of eleven compete against one another in a limited or unlimited overs fixture. The team scoring more runs at the end of their respective innings is the winner. Globally, cricket tournaments are contested between multiple teams at both the domestic and international level.
The performance of a team in a tournament is determined by several factors. These include the number of matches won, number of matches lost, number of matches that had no result, the net run rate of a team in the tournament. Another statistic to determine a team’s performance is the runs per wicket ratio.
The runs per wicket ratio is also known as quotient. It is a method that has been in use as early as the 1910s. The statistic is a ratio of two mathematical calculations. The first is the total runs scored by the team for every wicket lost. The second is the total runs conceded by the team for every wicket taken. The ratio of these two factors determines a team’s runs per wicket ratio.
If a team scores 250 runs and has lost 5 wickets in the process, then it means they have scored 50 runs for every wicket lost. When the same team has conceded 220 runs and taken 8 wickets, then they have given away 27.5 runs for every wicket they took. Thus, the runs per wicket ratio of this team would be 50/27.5 = 1.81
When a team’s runs per wicket ratio is more than 1, it means they have scored better per wicket than the runs they conceded. When the team’s runs per wicket ratio is less than 1, then it means they have scored less runs per wicket compared to the other team.
A disadvantage of the runs per wicket ratio is that it is not accurate and cannot firmly establish the performance of a team. From our example above, if the same team had conceded 220 runs and taken 5 wickets, then their runs per wicket ratio would be less than 1, despite the fact that they won the match.
The runs per wicket ratio was used in the ICC World Test Championship (2019-21), Sheffield Shield, Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy.
