New cricket fans often feel overwhelmed by the long list of short codes printed on live scorecards. These abbreviations are standard across T20, ODI, Test and IPL matches, designed to save space and let viewers quickly scan player stats and match events. Once you master the most common ones, reading any scorecard becomes much simpler, and you can follow games without pausing to guess what each letter stands for. This guide breaks down batting, bowling, dismissal and general match abbreviations in clear, beginner-friendly language.
First, let’s start with batting table abbreviations. R stands for Runs, the total runs the batter scored. B means Balls, counting how many legal deliveries the batter faced. 4s and 6s are straightforward: the number of fours and sixes hit. SR is Strike Rate, calculated by dividing runs by balls and multiplying by 100. It shows how quickly a batter scores, a critical metric for fast formats like T20. NO means Not Out; the batter is still batting and has not been dismissed when the innings ends. If a batter retired hurt, you might see RH, which means they left the pitch due to injury and can return later if needed.
Dismissal abbreviations tell you exactly how a batter lost their wicket. B stands for Bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and removes the bails. C means Caught, usually written as “c Smith b Jones” — caught by Smith, bowled by Jones. LBW is Leg Before Wicket, the famous rule where the ball would have hit the stumps but struck the batter’s leg first. RO is Run Out, and ST is Stumped, when the wicketkeeper removes the bails while the batter is outside the crease. Hit wicket is marked HW, which happens when the batter knocks their own stumps over with the bat or body.
Next are the bowling abbreviations. O means Overs bowled by the bowler. M stands for Maiden overs, overs where zero runs were conceded. R is Runs conceded by the bowler, and W is Wickets taken. Econ is Economy Rate, the average runs the bowler gives up per over. Dot balls are sometimes listed as Dots, which are deliveries where no run is scored. WD means Wide, and NB means No Ball, both illegal deliveries that add extra runs to the batting team’s total. Some scorecards also list Extras split into By (Byes) and LB (Leg Byes).
You will also see common abbreviations for match status and standings. NR means No Result, used when rain or bad light stops the match before it can be completed. T means Tie, when both teams finish on exactly the same total runs. NRR is Net Run Rate, the tiebreaker used in league tournaments like IPL to rank teams with equal points. Pts stands for Points on the tournament table. PP refers to Powerplay, the restricted fielding phase at the start of each innings.
Other small codes pop up regularly. wk is Wicketkeeper, and cap is Captain. Sub means substitute fielder. If a super over is played, it is marked SO. FoW stands for Fall of Wicket, which records the team score at the moment each batter gets out. Partnerships may be marked as Pship, showing the runs two batters built together.
Many casual fans skip these codes at first, but abbreviations are the universal language of cricket scorecards. Commentators and statisticians rely on them, and every live score platform uses the same set of terms. You do not need to memorize everything at once. Start with SR, Econ, C, B and LBW, then learn the rest slowly as you watch more matches. Understanding these short codes lets you dig deeper into player performance, compare batters and bowlers, and catch small details that make watching cricket far more engaging.