Photo: Scoreboard from our U16s batting vs Clydesdale in a 20 over Scottish Cup Match last season.

New to cricket? Or are you a parent whose child has joined our junior sessions and you would like to follow the progress of a game on our Solway Print Electronic Scoreboard?

What exactly do the numbers mean? And who is winning?

Our scoreboard supplier has provided a helpful article on the subject here on “How to Read a Cricket Scoreboard”. Have a read and hopefully be enlightened.

Reading our club scoreboard

We have the following numbers displayed on our scoreboard. From the top left -

LH Bat number - number of the batter in the batting order e.g. 1 or 2 for an opener, and up to batter number 11 if used like this. Or it is the batter shirt number in some instances e.g. for representative Scotland matches.
LH Bat runs - underneath is the number of runs scored by that batter. If that number changes to 100 then make sure you applaud a century by that player..

Total - total number of runs scored so far by the batting side.

RH Bat number - as above for the second batter
RH Bat runs - number of runs scored by the second batter

Wkts - the number of batters out, dismissed.
(For an 11-a-side game the maximum is 10 wickets).

1st Inns - the number of runs scored by the side batting first.

Over - the number of bowling overs completed e.g. 15 overs completed. An over consists of 6 balls delivered.
(In 2026 the 1s play a maximum of 50 overs, 2s 40 overs, Sunday XI 36 overs, Midweek 20 overs, U13 20 overs, etc)

D/L - Duckworth Lewis target score
If displayed, this is for a game which has been rain interrupted, or may be. It displays the winning target score the side batting second has to have reached, or passed, to win if the game has to be stopped now. (The calculation of that target score is complicated and we can’t properly explain it either. It is a magic number issued by the cricket gods!).

So who is winning? Well, the game is never over until the last batter is out! But,

Is it the first or second innings? Check if there is a 1st innings total displayed and therefore has been completed.

What is the Total for the current innings? If in the second innings, compare this with the 1st innings total and check how many runs are needed for the side batting second to win. If it is the first innings divide the Total by the Overs to get the current run rate. (A run rate of 1 is very low, 4 is ok, 8 is high, etc)

How many Wkts have fallen? e.g. 9 means there is only 1 wicket left before all 10 wickets are out and the side is all out.

How many Overs have been bowled? So 25 displayed, for a 1s game, typically means the innings is half-way with 50 overs to be bowled in total.

Who is winning?
In the first innings, check the total, check how many wickets are down and hence left, check how many overs have been bowled so far and how many are left. Total/overs gives the average current run rate per over so far.

In the second innings, how close is the Total to the 1st Inns Total, how many wickets are left out of the maximum of 10, how many overs are gone and are left. How many runs are still needed and how many overs are left to get them e.g. what is the run rate per over required to win. And what is the current run rate so far as a comparison. If that is more then the batting side is ‘winning’, level then there might be tense finish, less then the bowling side is ‘winning’.

And although nobody understands it really, if displayed, the DL number is a very good indicator of the progress of a game. Is the Total behind, or ahead, of the DL number. Behind means the side batting second is ‘losing’, ahead means they are ‘winning’ and their run progress graph is ahead.

PS Sorry, we don’t have a display for the number of overs left which would be helpful. For a future scoreboard upgrade perhaps.

PPS: Who is 'winning' in the article's scoreboard photo? Is it our U16s batting second in the T20 match?

[Tips: For the 20 overs-a-side game
Batter 4 is 28 not out. Batter 5 is 29 not out
Total is 83 for 3 wickets
With 12 overs completed
First innings total is 99

17 runs to win to pass 99
8 overs left of the 20
7 wickets left of 10 wickets
Required run rate at the start of the innings was 5 runs an over (100/20)
Current run rate is just under 7 runs an over (83/12)
Required run rate now is just over 2 runs an over (17/8) with 7 wickets remaining
Ed thinks the U16s are ‘winning’ at the moment]