Glossary
Economy rate
A cricket bowler's runs conceded per over, the standard measure of how tight or expensive their bowling is.
Economy rate measures how many runs a bowler typically gives away, expressed per over rather than per wicket. A lower economy rate means the bowler is harder to score against, regardless of whether they are taking wickets.
The formula is economy rate = runs conceded / overs bowled. This differs from bowling average (runs conceded per wicket) and bowling strike rate (balls bowled per wicket), both of which measure wicket-taking threat rather than containment; a bowler can have an excellent economy rate while taking few wickets, or vice versa. Economy rate matters most in limited-overs cricket, where every run saved directly reduces the target or defends a total, and it is tracked separately by phase — powerplay overs, middle overs, and death overs each carry very different baseline economy rates because field restrictions and batting intent change.
Analysts and captains use economy rate to plan bowling changes and match-ups, alongside batting strike rate for the opposing batters and match-state tools like win probability model. The common pitfall is comparing economy rates across phases or formats without adjusting for context; a death-overs economy rate of 8 is often excellent, while the same figure in the powerplay would be poor.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026