CRICKET WICKET RESEARCH

ODI scoring across decades: measure pace without hiding missing balls

A weighted batting strike-rate comparison across ODI decades, separating men and women and disclosing incomplete historical innings.

Cricket Wicket · Published 2026-09-07 · Data checked 2026-09-07

THE QUESTION

How quickly did batters score in different decades? The answer requires both runs and balls. This study sums batter runs and balls only when every listed batter in an innings has the necessary figures, then compares men’s and women’s ODIs separately.

Men · ODI scoring pace

Men ODI runs per 100 balls in included innings

1970s61.34

1980s66.52

1990s69.85

2000s75.37

2010s83.80

2020s87.84

Men ODI scoring periods and missing-data coverage
Decade	Available innings	Included innings	Batter runs	Balls faced	Runs/100 balls
1970s	150	150	26,796	43,678	61.34
1980s	1,022	1,022	187,368	281,664	66.52
1990s	1,756	1,756	339,630	486,217	69.85
2000s	2,359	2,359	478,254	634,530	75.37
2010s	2,136	2,136	474,696	566,401	83.80
2020s	893	893	202,128	230,093	87.84

Using periods with at least 100 included innings, the 1970s sample scores at 61.34 runs per 100 balls and the 2020s sample at 87.84, a change of 26.50 runs per 100 balls. These are the first and last qualifying archive periods, not estimates of every ODI played in those decades.

Women · ODI scoring pace

Women ODI runs per 100 balls in included innings

1980s48.18

1990s50.03

2000s55.70

2010s64.86

2020s76.27

Women ODI scoring periods and missing-data coverage
Decade	Available innings	Included innings	Excluded innings	Batter runs	Balls faced	Runs/100 balls
1970s	28	0	28	0	0	—
1980s	139	18	121	2,651	5,502	48.18
1990s	245	157	88	21,138	42,247	50.03
2000s	724	692	32	101,703	182,581	55.70
2010s	877	876	1	149,314	230,203	64.86
2020s	649	649	0	125,192	164,130	76.27

Using periods with at least 100 included innings, the 1990s sample scores at 50.03 runs per 100 balls and the 2020s sample at 76.27, a change of 26.24 runs per 100 balls. These are the first and last qualifying archive periods, not estimates of every ODI played in those decades.

Why the missing-data column matters

Discarding only the batters with missing balls would keep some of an innings’ runs and remove part of its denominator. That can produce a misleading rate. Here the entire affected innings is excluded. Older scorecards can be less complete, so the surviving sample can still be selective.

Team extras do not appear in the numerator. Reduced-overs and unfinished innings remain when their batting figures are usable. The current decade is partial. Differences can reflect the mix of teams, venues, innings lengths and conditions; this table does not identify which factor caused a change.