Over (cricket) facts for kids

In a Cricket game, an over is a special part where a bowler throws the ball six times. All these six throws happen from one end of the cricket pitch. After the bowler has thrown all six balls, the umpire (the game's referee) calls "over". This means that bowler's turn is done for a bit. In some types of cricket, like T20 cricket, there's a limit to how many overs a team can bowl in a game or an innings.

How Many Balls in an Over? A Look Back in Time

For a long time, since 1979/80, most Test cricket games have used six balls per over. But did you know that the number of balls in an over used to change? Sometimes it was more than six, and sometimes it was less!

Balls per Over in England

• 1880 to 1888: 4 balls
• 1889 to 1899: 5 balls
• 1900 to 1938: 6 balls
• 1939 to 1945: 8 balls (except for special "Victory" Tests)
• 1946 to today: 6 balls

Balls per Over in Australia

• 1876/77 to 1887/88: 4 balls
• 1891/92 to 1920/21: 6 balls
• 1924/25: 8 balls
• 1928/29 to 1932/33: 6 balls
• 1936/37 to 1978/79: 8 balls
• 1979/80 to today: 6 balls

Balls per Over in South Africa

• 1888/89: 4 balls
• 1891/92 to 1898/99: 5 balls
• 1902/03 to 1935/36: 6 balls
• 1938/39 to 1957/58: 8 balls
• 1961/62 to today: 6 balls

Balls per Over in New Zealand

• 1929/30 to 1967/68: 6 balls
• 1968/69 to 1978/79: 8 balls
• 1979/80 to today: 6 balls

Balls per Over in Pakistan

• 1954/55 to 1972/73: 6 balls
• 1974/75 to 1977/78: 8 balls
• 1978/79 to today: 6 balls

In many other countries, like India, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and even the United Arab Emirates (when they host games), all Test matches have always been played with six balls per over.

Images for kids

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  Scoreboard showing the number of overs and maiden overs bowled by two bowlers.