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A cricket scorecard packs an entire innings into a few lines, and most of it is shorthand. c Smith b Jones, lbw b Khan, st Patel b Rao, Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 14, nb 2): none of it is hard once you have seen the key, but nobody hands you the key. This guide is that key. It covers the codes on a published scorecard first, then the different shorthand scorers use in a paper scorebook, such as 4nb and 1lb.
Quick Key: How-Out Codes
The “how out” column explains how each batter’s innings ended. These are the codes you will meet most often.
| Code | Meaning | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| b Jones | Bowled | The ball hit the stumps; Jones was the bowler. |
| c Smith b Jones | Caught | Smith caught it off Jones’s bowling. |
| c & b Jones | Caught and bowled | The bowler took the catch himself or herself. |
| lbw b Khan | Leg before wicket | Given out lbw to Khan’s bowling. |
| st Patel b Rao | Stumped | Wicket-keeper Patel stumped the batter off Rao. |
| run out (Singh) | Run out | The fielder who broke the wicket is in brackets. No bowler is credited. |
| hit wkt b Jones | Hit wicket | The batter broke their own wicket; written ht wkt or hw in places. |
| not out, n.o., 52* | Not out | Still batting when the innings ended. |
| DNB | Did not bat | In the side but never reached the crease. |
Rarer endings, such as retired hurt, timed out or obstructing the field, are normally written out in full rather than abbreviated. The pages on retired hurt versus retired out and rare dismissals explain how each is scored. For the leg-before decision itself, see the LBW guide for scorers.
Who Gets the Wicket?
Bowled, caught, lbw, stumped and hit wicket are credited to the bowler. A run out is not, which is why the bowler’s name is missing from a run-out line. A bowling analysis such as 4-0-28-3 counts only the wickets credited to that bowler. Notice that a catch also names a fielder, who gets a catch in the fielding records but nothing in the bowling figures.
Quick Key: The Extras Line
The extras line sits under the batting card and breaks the total down by type: Extras 23 (b 1, lb 6, w 14, nb 2).
| Code | Extra | Charged to the bowler? | Legal ball? |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | Byes | No | Yes |
| lb | Leg byes | No | Yes |
| w (wd) | Wides | Yes | No |
| nb | No-balls | Yes (penalty run, and any runs off the bat) | No |
The sum of those four numbers is the extras total, and penalty runs awarded to a side are usually included in extras too, though the label for them varies between scorecards. The full rules for each type are in understanding cricket extras.
Why “b” Means Two Things
The same letter does double duty. In the how-out column, b Jones means bowled. In the extras line, b 4 means 4 byes. Position is the only clue, so read the how-out column as a sentence (“caught Smith, bowled Jones”) and the extras line as a list of counts.
Scorebook Shorthand: 4nb, 1lb, 2wd and Dots
The published codes above describe totals. A paper scorebook records every ball, so scorers use a second, tighter shorthand. It is a convention rather than a Law, and it varies, but a very common pattern is:
- A dot (.) is a ball with no run, and a digit is the runs off the bat.
- W marks a wicket.
- A number in front of a code is the total for that delivery: 4nb is a no-ball that produced 4 runs (the penalty run plus 3 more), 2wd is a wide plus one run taken, 1lb is one leg bye.
- Wides and no-balls are not legal deliveries, so they do not use up one of the six balls in the over.
Some scorers circle the runs on a no-ball, or draw a cross for a wide, so check the key printed in your book.
If you want to see how a line of shorthand adds up, paste it into the
over notation decoder: 1nb 4 . 1lb 2 . 1
becomes 9 runs, 6 legal balls and 2 extras, and it tells you whether the over was a maiden.
Worked Example: Reading a Real Line
Take this fragment of a batting card:
- A. Khan, c Smith b Jones, 34 (28 balls, 4 fours, 1 six): caught by Smith off Jones, out for 34.
- R. Patel, not out, 12: still batting at the end.
- Extras (b 2, lb 1, w 5, nb 1): 9 extras. Of those, 6 (wides and the no-ball) count against the bowlers and 3 (byes and the leg bye) do not.
So if the team total is 150 and extras are 9, the batters scored 141 between them. To go deeper into the rest of the card, including fall of wickets and bowling figures, use how to read a cricket scorecard, and to check that your own columns agree, try the scorebook balance checker.
Common Mistakes
- Reading “b” as bowled in the extras line. It means byes there.
- Charging byes and leg byes to the bowler. They add to the team total only.
- Crediting a run out to the bowler. The bowler’s wicket tally does not include it.
- Counting wides and no-balls as one of the six balls. They are extra deliveries; the over is only complete after six legal ones.
- Assuming every scorebook uses the same marks. Always check the key.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does c and b mean on a cricket scorecard?
c means caught and b means bowled. “c Smith b Jones” is “caught by Smith, bowled by Jones”. If the bowler took the catch it is written “c & b Jones”.
What does b mean on a scorecard: bowled or byes?
In the how-out column it means bowled. In the extras line, “b 4” means 4 byes. Position tells you which.
What does st mean in cricket?
Stumped. The wicket-keeper’s name comes first and the bowler’s second: “st Patel b Rao”.
What does n.o. or an asterisk mean next to a batter?
Not out. The batter was still at the crease when the innings ended; 52* means 52 not out.
What do nb, w, lb and b mean in the extras line?
No-balls, wides, leg byes and byes. “Extras 23 (b 1, lb 6, w 14, nb 2)” is 1 bye, 6 leg byes, 14 wides and 2 no-balls.
What does 4nb mean in a scorebook?
In a common convention, a no-ball on which 4 runs were scored in total: the penalty run plus 3 more. Scorebook conventions differ, so check your book’s key.
What does DNB mean on a scorecard?
Did not bat. It marks the players who were in the team but never reached the crease.
Are scorecard abbreviations the same everywhere?
The how-out and extras codes are widely shared. Details differ between software, newspapers and paper scorebooks, especially for retirements and hand-drawn marks for wides and no-balls.
Skip the Shorthand
Paper scoring means learning a private language and then translating it back at the end of the match. CricPulse lets you tap the outcome of each ball, such as a wide, a no-ball, a bye or a caught dismissal with the fielder’s name, and writes the scorecard in the standard format for you. Want to record this automatically during your next match? Score your match with CricPulse. Free on iOS and Android.