CricPulse
A maiden over is six legal balls and nothing conceded. It is the simplest idea in bowling figures and the one that quietly goes wrong in scorebooks: a wide gets ignored, a leg bye gets blamed on the bowler, or an over shared between two bowlers gets credited to the wrong one. This guide gives the working rule, a ball-by-ball example, and the places where leagues differ.
What Is a Maiden Over?
A maiden over is a complete over of six legal deliveries in which no runs are charged to the bowler. The second half of that sentence is what matters. A maiden is not “no runs scored” and it is not “no runs off the bat”. It is “no runs against the bowler’s name”.
That distinction explains every edge case below. Runs come in two groups: those the bowler is responsible for, and those the fielding side is responsible for.
What Counts Against the Bowler
| Runs from | Charged to bowler? | Spoils the maiden? |
|---|---|---|
| Bat (singles, fours, sixes) | Yes | Yes |
| Wide | Yes | Yes |
| No-ball (the penalty run, plus any runs off the bat) | Yes | Yes |
| Bye | No | No (usual convention) |
| Leg bye | No | No (usual convention) |
For the full extras picture, see our guide to wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes. The short version is that wides and no-balls are bowling extras (they go in the bowler’s analysis) while byes and leg byes are fielding extras (they go in the team total but not against the bowler).
Wides and No-Balls: Always a Spoiler
A wide costs the bowler at least one run, so the over cannot be a maiden. The wide is also not a legal delivery, which means the over runs to more than six balls: the bowler must bowl another ball to complete six legal deliveries. A no-ball works the same way. The penalty run is charged to the bowler, and the re-bowled ball is an extra delivery.
Some older beginner guides say a wide or no-ball “does not stop a maiden” because the batter did not score off the bat. That is not how bowling figures work: the bowler’s runs-conceded column includes wides and no-balls, so an over with one cannot show zero runs.
Byes and Leg Byes: Usually Still a Maiden
Byes and leg byes are not the bowler’s fault in the scoring sense, so they do not appear in the bowler’s runs conceded. A bowler can send down six legal balls, see two leg byes run, and still have a maiden. This is the usual convention and the one most scoring guides follow, but a minority of sources and some local competitions describe a maiden as “no runs scored at all”. If you score for a league, check the competition’s scoring instructions, and write down which rule you used.
A Worked Example
Here is one over, ball by ball. The bowler is marked against each delivery.
| Delivery | Outcome | Legal balls | Runs against bowler |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dot | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Leg bye, 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Dot | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Bowled, wicket | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Bye, 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Dot | 6 | 0 |
The team total rose by 2 (one leg bye, one bye), but the bowler conceded nothing and took a wicket, so the over is a maiden, and a wicket maiden at that. His line reads 1-1-0-1. Now change ball 3 to a wide. The bowler is charged 1 run, the over is not a maiden, and he has to bowl a seventh delivery to complete six legal balls. His line for the over becomes 1-0-1-1.
Wicket Maidens
A wicket maiden is a maiden in which the bowler also takes a wicket. It is a descriptive phrase used in commentary and records, not a separate column in the scorebook. A run out in an otherwise scoreless over still leaves a maiden, though the run out is not credited to the bowler (see the hat-trick guide for how bowler-credited dismissals are treated).
When Two Bowlers Share an Over
If a bowler is injured, suspended or removed mid-over, another bowler completes it. The usual scoring convention is that neither bowler is credited with a maiden, since neither bowled all six legal balls. Each bowler’s balls and runs are still recorded, and each carries a part-over in the figures, such as 0.4. For the arithmetic of part-overs, see economy rate explained and the overs to balls converter. Competitions can differ, so use your league’s instructions where they exist.
Maidens in Different Formats
The rule is the same in every format; the frequency is not. In Tests and long-form club cricket, maidens are a core measure of control, and the O-M-R-W line is built around them. In T20 and T10, most bowlers go through a spell without one, so a maiden is an event. In junior cricket with bowling limits, maidens still count as normal; the limits are about overs, not figures.
How a Scorer Checks a Maiden
- List the over’s deliveries and strike out wides and no-balls from the legal-ball count.
- Confirm there are six legal balls bowled by one bowler.
- Add the runs charged to the bowler: bat runs, wides, no-balls.
- If that total is zero, record a maiden. Byes and leg byes go to the team total only.
If your bowlers’ totals plus fielding extras do not equal the team total at the end of the innings, a mis-classified bye or wide is the most common cause. The scorebook balance checker tests exactly that.
How CricPulse Fits In
Want to record this automatically during your next match? Score your match with CricPulse. The app builds each bowler’s maiden count from the ball-by-ball record: it looks at a bowler’s complete overs of six legal deliveries and treats a wide or no-ball as a run against the bowler, so a stray wide can never be overlooked. For the rest of the scorebook, see how to score a cricket match and how to read a scorecard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a maiden over in cricket?
A maiden over is a complete over of six legal deliveries in which the bowler concedes no runs. Runs charged to the bowler are runs off the bat, wides and no-balls. Byes and leg byes are not charged to the bowler.
Does a wide ruin a maiden over?
Yes. A wide counts as at least one run against the bowler, so the over cannot be a maiden. The wide is also not a legal delivery, so the bowler has to bowl an extra ball to complete the over.
Does a no-ball ruin a maiden over?
Yes. The no-ball penalty run is charged to the bowler, so the over is not a maiden even if the batter does not score off the bat.
Can an over with byes or leg byes still be a maiden?
Generally yes. Byes and leg byes are fielding extras, not charged to the bowler, so an over with only byes or leg byes can still be recorded as a maiden. A few scoring guides and local rules differ, so check your competition’s scoring instructions.
What is a wicket maiden?
A wicket maiden is a maiden over in which the bowler also takes at least one wicket. It is a descriptive term used in commentary and records, not a separate scoring entry.
What if an over is shared between two bowlers?
If a bowler is unable to complete an over, another bowler finishes it. By the usual scoring convention, neither bowler is credited with a maiden for that over, because neither bowled all six legal balls. Confirm with your league’s scoring rules.
How many maidens is good in a T20 match?
Very few. Most T20 bowlers finish a four-over spell without one, so a single maiden is a notable spell and two is rare. Use it as a rough guide, not a rule.