Strike rate

International batting strike rates as of January 2004

Batting strike rate (s/r) is defined for a batsman as the average number of runs scored per 100 balls faced. The higher the strike rate, the more effective a batsman is at scoring quickly.

In Test cricket, a batsman's strike rate is of secondary relevance to his ability to score runs without getting out. This means a Test batsman's most important statistic is generally considered to be his batting average, rather than his strike rate.

In limited overs cricket, strike rates are of considerably more importance. Since each team only faces a limited number of balls in an innings, the faster a batsman scores, the more runs his team will be able to accumulate. Strike rates of over 150 are becoming common in Twenty20 cricket.[1] Strike rate is probably considered by most as the key factor in a batsman in one day cricket. Accordingly, the batsmen with the higher strike rate, especially in Twenty20 matches, are more valued than those with a lesser strike rate.

Highest career strike rate (T20I)

See also: Highest strike rates in ODIs and Highest strike rates in T20Is

Strike rate	Runs scored	Balls faced	Batsman	Team	T20I career span
165.80	577	348	Ravija Sandaruwan	Kuwait	2019–2020
160.00	1,576	985	Glenn Maxwell	Australia	2012–2019
158.52	558	352	Tim David	Singapore	2019–2020
156.44	1,724	1,102	Colin Munro	New Zealand	2012–2020
155.87	1,989	1,276	Aaron Finch	Australia	2011–2020
Qualification: 250 balls. Updated: 9 March 2020[2]

Highest career strike rate (ODI)

Strike rate	Runs	Balls faced	Player	Period
130.22	1,034	794	Andre Russell ‡	2011–present
123.37	2,877	2,332	Glenn Maxwell ‡	2012–present
119.83	3,843	3,207	Jos Buttler ‡	2012–present
117.06	590	504	Lionel Cann	2006–2009
117.00	8,064	6892	Shahid Afridi ‡	1996–2015
Qualification: 500 balls faced Last updated: 24 July 2019[3]

Bowling strike rate is defined for a bowler as the average number of balls bowled per wicket taken. The lower the strike rate, the more effective a bowler is at taking wickets quickly.

Although introduced as a statistic complementary to the batting strike rate during the ascension of one-day cricket in the 1980s, bowling strike rates are arguably of more importance in Test cricket than One-day Internationals. This is because the primary goal of a bowler in Test cricket is to take wickets, whereas in a one-day match it is often sufficient to bowl economically - giving away as few runs as possible even if this means taking fewer wickets.

Best career strike rate (Tests)

Retired players

Strike rate	Player	Balls	Wickets
34.2	George Lohmann	3,830	112
37.7	/ J. J. Ferris	2,302	61
38.8	Shane Bond	3,372	87
41.7	Sydney Barnes	7,873	189
43.2	Bert Vogler	2,764	64
Qualification: 2,000 balls Last updated: 8 January 2017[4]

Active players

Strike rate	Player	Balls	Wickets
40.17	Kagiso Rabada	7,712	192
42.3	Dale Steyn[5]	18,608	439
43.73	Jasprit Bumrah	2,711	62
48.22	Mitchell Starc	11,573	240
47.22	Pat Cummins	6,563	139
Qualification: 2,000 balls Last updated: 4 January 2020[4]