Innings and overs
How a cricket match is structured — what an innings is, why an over is six balls, how the bowling end alternates, and which parts of the structure the Laws fix and which a competition sets.
Overview
Cricket is organised in innings. One side bats while the other fields, and the batting side's innings ends when ten of its eleven batters are out, when its allotted overs run out, or when its captain declares. A match may be of one or two innings per side, agreed before it starts.
Within an innings, bowling is organised in overs. An over is six deliveries bowled from one end by one bowler. When the over is complete, play switches to the other end and a different bowler bowls the next over — no bowler may bowl two overs in succession.
Why the ends alternate
The alternation is the reason a fielding side needs at least two frontline bowlers and the reason field settings have to be reset every six balls. It also means the two batters swap roles constantly: whoever is at the bowler's end at the close of an over becomes the striker for the next one.
It follows that running an odd number off the last ball of an over keeps the same batter on strike, and running an even number changes who faces. Strike rotation — one of the most discussed ideas in limited-overs batting — is a direct consequence of the over structure rather than a separate rule.
Deliveries that do not count
An over is six fair deliveries. A no-ball or a wide is not one of them: the delivery is bowled again as part of the same over, so an over containing two wides takes eight balls to complete.
That is why an expensive over in limited-overs cricket can be far worse than the six-ball arithmetic suggests. Each illegitimate delivery costs a penalty run and then has to be bowled again, and the bowler has to produce a legal ball under pressure to escape.
What a competition decides
Over limits, the number of overs one bowler may bowl, powerplay restrictions and the length of an interval are all competition matters. The Laws provide the machinery — innings, overs, declarations, the follow-on — and leave the dial settings to whoever is running the match.
This is the cleanest example of the MCC/ICC division on the whole site. "A cricket innings is fifty overs" is not a Law and is untrue of most cricket played anywhere in the world.
Key points
- An over is six fair deliveries from one end; the ends then alternate.
- No bowler may bowl two consecutive overs.
- Wides and no-balls do not count towards the six and must be bowled again.
- An innings ends on ten wickets, on the overs running out, or on a declaration.
- How many overs a side receives is a competition rule, not a Law.
Where it’s used
Sports that use innings and overs:
Related rules
Cricket creases
The white lines marked at each end of a cricket pitch — bowling, popping and return creases — what each one is for, and the exact measurements that decide no-balls, run-outs and stumpings.
No-ball
The illegal delivery in cricket — where the bowler's feet must land, what the Laws say about straightening the arm, and why a no-ball costs a run and has to be bowled again.
Wide ball
The delivery ruled too far from the batter to be hit — the exact test the umpire applies, the two situations that cancel a wide, and why a wide costs a run and must be bowled again.
Sources
The rules, dimensions and specifications on this page were read from these documents.
- The Laws of Cricket — Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), 2017 Code, Law 13 — Innings; Law 17 — The over (read 2026-09-12)
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Innings and overs in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Foundation of
These build directly on this one.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- Cricket creasesBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- No-ballBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Wide ballBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- Leg before wicket (LBW)Both are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
- How a batter is out in cricketBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Cricket learning path.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Innings and overs to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Tactics
- Strike rotationWhy singles matter more than they look in cricket — how rotating the strike unsettles a bowler's rhythm, protects a struggling batter, and is decided by the over structure itself.
- Playing spin bowlingWhat a batter actually does against a spinner — using the crease and the feet to change the length, picking the ball from the hand, and the options when the pitch is turning sharply.
- Approaching the netHow a point is moved forward — which balls justify an approach, why the approach is hit down the line, and the transition volley that has to be played from no-man's land.
Scoring systems
- Runs and boundaries in cricketHow runs are actually scored in cricket — by running, by finding the boundary, and by the penalties the fielding side concedes — and how each kind is credited in the scorebook.
- Volleyball scoringVolleyball uses rally scoring, in which a point is won on every rally, and matches are decided over a best-of-five sets.
- Padel scoringPadel borrows tennis scoring, counting points as 15–30–40 within games and playing sets to six games decided by a tiebreak.
- Tennis scoring systemsThe scoring methods the ITF Rules actually authorise — the advantage set, the tie-break set, the standard tie-break game, and the short sets and match tie-breaks in Appendix VI.
- Extras: byes, leg byes, wides and no-ballsThe runs a fielding side gives away rather than the batting side earning — what separates a bye from a leg bye, why a wide and a no-ball each cost a penalty run, and how each is recorded.
Learning paths
- Learn CricketA structured, educational learning path for cricket — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn TennisA structured, educational learning path for tennis — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn FootballA structured, educational learning path for football — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn RunningA structured, educational learning path for running — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn BasketballA structured, educational learning path for basketball — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
Facilities
- The cricket field and boundaryHow the edge of a cricket field is defined and marked, what scores four and what scores six, and why the Laws set no boundary distance while international playing conditions do.
- The rugby union fieldThe dimensions and markings of a rugby union pitch — the field of play, the in-goal areas, the 22-metre and 10-metre lines, the goal posts, and what the Laws fix versus what they leave open.
Equipment
- The cricket ballWhat a cricket ball weighs and measures in men's, women's and junior cricket, who controls the ball during a match, and the rules on taking a new ball after 80 overs.
- The table tennis net assemblyThe net, its posts and its suspension — the one height that governs both the net and the posts, and why that number appears twice in the Laws.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket, with a curved back that concentrates weight behind the hitting area.
- Golf ballA small, firm, dimpled ball struck with a club and played toward the hole on a golf course.
- The padel racketWhat the FIP rules fix about a padel racket — the maximum length, width and thickness, the mandatory cord, and the perforation limits that define the hitting surface.
Techniques
- Seam bowlingMovement off the pitch rather than through the air — how landing the ball on its seam deviates it at the bounce, and why seam and swing are different skills that look alike.
- Swing bowlingHow a cricket ball is made to curve in the air — the seam position and surface asymmetry behind conventional and reverse swing, and why swing is a property of the ball as much as the bowler.
- Spin bowlingHow a slow bowler turns the ball — finger spin against wrist spin, off breaks, leg breaks and the deliveries that go the other way, and why flight matters more than turn.
- Pace bowlingWhat fast bowling is actually for — how speed reduces a batter's reaction time, what the short ball and the yorker each achieve, and how a pace attack uses length as its main variable.
- Spin in table tennisWhy table tennis is a spin sport before it is a speed sport — how topspin, backspin and sidespin change a ball's flight and its bounce off an opponent's bat.
Go deeper with Innings and overs
Everywhere else on the platform that covers Innings and overs — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
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Structured courses and paths on the platform that cover this directly.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Rule
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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