A cricket innings is a period during which one team bats and attempts to accumulate runs while the opposing team bowls and fields. The word innings is unusual because its singular and plural forms are both written as innings, so one can refer to an innings or several innings without changing the spelling.
During an innings, two batters are normally on the field simultaneously, one at each end of the pitch, while the fielding team attempts to dismiss them and prevent runs. The innings continues while the batting team has eligible batters available and the format's other conditions have not ended it. An innings is therefore much larger than an over: an over is a six-valid-ball unit, whereas an innings is the complete batting period for one team under the relevant match format.
The length and number of innings depend on the form of cricket. In Test cricket, each side normally has two innings available, creating the possibility of a first innings for each side followed by second innings for each side. In limited-overs international cricket, each side normally has one innings. The ICC's T20I playing conditions explicitly state that a match consists of one innings for each side and that the sides take their innings alternately.
Each innings is limited to a maximum of 20 overs in an uninterrupted standard T20I. ODI cricket follows the same one-innings-per-side principle but with a substantially larger over allowance. These differences demonstrate why the word innings must always be interpreted in relation to the format.
An innings can end because the batting side is all out, because the prescribed number of overs has been completed in limited-overs cricket, because the required result has already been achieved, or because another format-specific condition applies. In a T20I, for example, the batting side normally has 20 overs available unless it is dismissed earlier or the match result ends the innings.
ICC regulations also describe circumstances in which an innings is completed because no further batter is available even though deliveries remain. In longer cricket, a captain can also declare an innings closed before all available batting resources have been exhausted, creating a tactical opportunity to give the opposing team time to bat while attempting to force a result. The existence of declarations is one reason Test innings cannot be understood simply as a fixed number of overs.
Runs accumulated during an innings form the basis of the team's score. Batters can score by running between the wickets, hitting boundaries or benefiting from certain extras. The score is tracked throughout the innings, while the number of wickets lost indicates how many batting dismissals have occurred. A scoreboard may therefore display a team's total runs alongside its wickets, such as a score conventionally expressed as runs for wickets lost.
The distinction is important because the same number of runs can have very different strategic meanings depending on how many wickets have been lost and how many overs or time remain. A team with many wickets in hand can generally continue taking calculated risks, whereas a team close to being all out may have to change its approach. Thus, an innings is both a scoring period and a resource-management exercise involving wickets, deliveries, time and field conditions.
The two batters in an innings have different immediate roles called striker and non-striker. The striker faces the bowler and attempts to play the delivery, while the non-striker waits at the opposite end and can become involved in running between the wickets or in certain dismissals. When the batters complete an odd number of runs, they generally exchange ends, changing which batter faces the next delivery, subject to the Laws and any boundary or dismissal circumstances.
The bowler delivers successive balls from one end, and after an over the bowling end changes. This means an innings is not a sequence in which one batter continuously faces every ball. Strike rotates through scoring and over changes, and the fielding captain can alter field placements and bowling choices throughout the innings.
An innings also contains partnerships. A partnership describes the period and runs accumulated between two successive dismissals or the batting relationship between the two batters currently occupying the crease. Partnerships are important because cricket is not simply an individual scoring contest. One batter can attack while another plays more conservatively, or both can accumulate runs through singles and boundaries. The fielding team tries to break partnerships because a successful partnership can rapidly increase the score and change the strategic balance. When a batter is dismissed, a new batter normally enters, subject to the Laws and playing conditions, and the remaining batter continues. Consequently, the fall of a wicket changes both the personnel and often the tactical approach of the innings.
In Test cricket, an innings can become a long strategic phase involving changing pitch conditions, weather, ball condition, bowler fatigue and field placements. Batters may spend considerable time establishing themselves before increasing their scoring rate, while bowlers can use different spells and tactics to create pressure. A captain may eventually declare an innings closed if the score is considered sufficient and the strategic priority is to give the opposition enough time to bat and potentially be dismissed. In limited-overs cricket, the innings has a fixed maximum number of overs, so the central resource is more explicitly finite. The same concept of an innings therefore produces very different tactical behaviour across formats because the available time and deliveries differ.
An innings should not be confused with an over, a partnership, a spell or a match. An over belongs inside an innings and contains six valid deliveries. A partnership concerns two batters and the runs scored between dismissals. A bowling spell concerns a bowler's sequence of overs. A match can contain one innings per side in T20 or ODI cricket, or multiple innings per side in Test cricket. These distinctions are fundamental to cricket terminology and statistics. The word innings also does not mean merely a player's personal turn at batting; it refers to the team's batting period, although individual players have their own innings statistics recording their runs and dismissal status.
