Bowling Average Calculator
SportsCalculate cricket bowling average from runs conceded and wickets taken instantly. Free tool for bowlers, coaches, and fantasy cricket players tracking form.
Bowling Average
30
Runs Conceded
600
What is a Bowling Average?
The Bowling Average Calculator computes a cricket bowler's average — total runs conceded divided by total wickets taken — the standard measure of how cheaply a bowler takes wickets. Enter your runs conceded and wickets taken, and get an instant average.
Unlike batting average, a lower bowling average is better, since it means fewer runs are being conceded for every wicket the bowler takes.
How to use this Bowling Average calculator
Enter total runs conceded across the innings or matches you want to include.
Enter total wickets taken in that same span.
Read your bowling average instantly in the result panel — remember, lower is better.
Recalculate anytime by updating either number as your season progresses.
Formula & Methodology
Bowling average: Bowling Average = Total Runs Conceded ÷ Total Wickets Taken Worked example: Runs conceded = 620, Wickets taken = 25 Bowling Average = 620 ÷ 25 = 24.80 Note: For a bowler's batting counterpart, see the Batting Average Calculator, and for a run-rate-based view of bowling performance across a limited-overs innings, see the Net Run Rate Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bowling average is the number of runs a bowler concedes per wicket taken, calculated as total runs conceded divided by total wickets taken. Unlike batting average, a lower bowling average is better — it means the bowler is taking wickets more cheaply.
In Test cricket, an average below 25 is considered excellent, 25-30 is very good for a regular international bowler, and 30-35 is solid — averages vary by format and era, with limited-overs cricket often producing higher averages since bowlers concede more runs per wicket in run-heavy conditions.
Bowling average measures runs conceded per wicket taken (a wicket-taking efficiency metric), while economy rate measures runs conceded per over bowled (a run-containment metric) — a bowler can have a low economy rate but a high average if they don't take many wickets, or vice versa.
If a bowler has taken zero wickets, bowling average is technically undefined (division by zero), since there's no wicket count to divide runs conceded by — this calculator treats zero wickets as one to avoid a math error, but in practice this scenario is usually reported as 'no average' until a wicket is taken.
The two averages measure opposite goals: [batting average](/batting-average-calculator/) rewards batters for accumulating runs before getting out (higher is better), while bowling average rewards bowlers for taking wickets cheaply (lower is better) — they're often referenced together to compare a player's overall value with both bat and ball.
Enter the total runs you've conceded across the innings or matches you're tracking, then enter the total number of wickets you've taken in that same span — the calculator divides runs by wickets to give your average.
No — bowling average only considers runs conceded and wickets taken, not overs bowled. For a metric that accounts for overs, use [economy rate](/net-run-rate-calculator/) or the [ERA Calculator](/era-calculator/) style approach used in baseball for a similar per-inning concept.
Bowling average is still tracked in T20, but analysts often weight economy rate more heavily in that format, since containing runs matters more in a short-format match — a bowler with a modest average but very low economy can still be extremely valuable in T20.
Yes — the formula (runs conceded ÷ wickets taken) applies at any level, from club and youth cricket up to international Test cricket, so you can track your own or a teammate's bowling figures across any season.
Bowling averages are typically lowest in Test cricket (bowlers have more time and fresher pitches to exploit), higher in ODIs, and highest in T20, since the shorter formats favor aggressive batting and bowlers often sacrifice wickets to contain runs.
Pair bowling average with economy rate and strike rate (balls bowled per wicket) for a fuller picture of a bowler's effectiveness — a bowler who takes wickets both cheaply (low average) and quickly (low bowling strike rate) is typically considered elite.
Cricket bowling average (runs ÷ wickets) and baseball ERA (earned runs ÷ innings pitched × 9) both measure a pitcher or bowler's run-prevention efficiency, but they use different denominators (wickets vs. innings pitched) since the two sports structure their bowling/pitching very differently. See the [ERA Calculator](/era-calculator/) for the baseball equivalent.
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