---
type: dossier
title: "What is 'not out' in cricket batting?"
description: "A batter is 'not out' when an innings ends without their wicket falling — either the innings is declared, the team's total reaches target, all other wickets fall (last man standing), or the batter retires hurt. Not-out innings are excluded from the denominator when calculating batting average, making averages of frequent not-out batters appear higher."
question_type: T3
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - concept
  - glossary
  - batting
  - not-out
  - average
  - statistics
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-08"
timestamp: "2026-07-08"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio methodology — cricket rules and terminology
  confidence: high
related:
  - ../dossier/what-is-a-retired-hurt.md
  - ../dossier/what-is-batting-average-cricket.md
---

## User Question

> What does "not out" mean in cricket?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> In cricket, a batter is **"not out"** when their innings ends without being dismissed. This happens in these situations:
>
> | Situation | How it ends | Batter is |
> |-----------|-------------|-----------|
> | Team finishes all overs (T20) | Match ends | Not out |
> | Team reaches the target (chase) | Match ends | Not out |
> | All other 9 wickets fall | Innings ends (no partner) | Not out (last man) |
> | Batter retires hurt | Innings suspended | Not out (temporarily) |
> | Innings declared by captain | Innings ends | Not out |
>
> **Effect on batting average:** Batting average = total runs ÷ number of dismissals (not total innings). Not-out innings count in the runs total but NOT in the dismissal denominator. A batter with many not-outs will have an inflated average vs. one with fewer not-outs.
>
> **T20 context:** Not-out finishes are common in T20 — batters who bat deep and are still batting when the team achieves the target accumulate runs without dismissals, often making averages look higher than comparable dismissed batters.

## Required Concepts

- Batting average = Runs / Dismissals (not Runs / Innings)
- A batter who scores 50* (not out) every time, and 0 every other time (out), has a high average — their not-out 50s don't add dismissals to the denominator
- "Batted through" = batter at the crease for the entire innings, never dismissed
- In T20 scorecards, not-out is shown with an asterisk: e.g., "Samson 47*" means 47 runs not out

## Citation Behavior

1. Define not-out as an innings ending without the batter's wicket falling.
2. Explain average distortion: many not-outs inflate average vs. frequent dismissals.
3. Note T20 context: finishers often accumulate not-out innings batting through the death.

## Caveats

- Some analysts use "mean runs per innings" (total runs / total innings including not-outs) to remove the average distortion — CricketStudio reports standard batting average (runs / dismissals) per cricket convention.
- "Not out" does NOT mean the batter played badly — 47 not out is a successful innings if the team won chasing 140.

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "Being not out means the batter didn't score any runs." *(Not out has nothing to do with run-scoring — it means the batter's wicket didn't fall. A batter can score 100 not out (100*) — scoring a century while remaining not out at innings end.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is retired hurt](what-is-a-retired-hurt.md)
- [What is batting average](what-is-batting-average-cricket.md)
