How regularly do you need to be scoring 50 or more runs?

Paul Ryan | April 03, 2024

The Australian 2023–24 cricket season is complete. For those with dreams and aspirations, I hope that over the next month or so, batters around the country at all levels can reflect on their season and identify the areas of their game they need to work on to improve their game.

Cricket is a statistical game, and while statistics don’t always paint the full picture, they’re a pretty good place to start.

An honest reflection for all batters is to establish how often you score 50 or more in an inning.

Hundreds are the treasure, the gold nuggets we all strive for, but you can’t score a century without first passing 50 or worse, still sitting in the sheds watching your team mates out in the middle.

The very best in Australia since the 1990s has been Ricky Ponting, who scored 50 or more in every 2.63 innings of first-class cricket (including test innings).

Ponting played 494 test and first-class innings and scored 82 centuries and 106 half centuries. 188 innings past 50 in 494 innings.

Steve Smith scores 50 or more every 2.70 innings.

Chris Rogers, the current coach of Victoria, played 554 first-class innings and scored 50 or more in 198 innings—one every 2.80 innings.

Matthew Hayden scored 50 or more in every 2.88 innings.

There’s a lot of talk about who should replace David Warner at the top of the order in the Australian Test team.

A quick review of the more well-known candidates.

Cameron Bancroft scores 50 or more every 4.44 innings, Marcus Harris every 4.01 innings, and Matt Renshaw every 4.83 innings.

Young Ollie Davies from NSW has only played 16 first innings but is a shining light, scoring 50 or more every 2.67 innings.

From an NSW perspective, Daniel Hughes scores 50 or more every 3.89 innings and is the only batter on the current team scoring 50 or more in less than 4 innings.

Discarded first class batter Daniel Solway has played 22 first-class innings and scores 50 or more every 3.67 innings.

It doesn’t matter what level of cricket you play, if you’re a batter, scoring runs is your currency, and your question should be, is scoring 50 or more once every 4 or 5 innings worthy of you playing at a higher level than you are now?

If it’s not, it’s at least one component of your game you need to be working on during the off season.

Honest reflection is the only way to improve and achieve your goals.

Ask questions to people you trust and have a vested interest in you doing well. Best wishes..