Editing Bowling average (section)

==Calculation==
A cricketer's bowling average is calculated by dividing the numbers of [[Run (cricket)|run]]s they have conceded by the number of [[Wicket#Dismissal_of_a_batsman|wicket]]s they have taken.<ref>van Staden (2008), p. 2.</ref> The number of runs conceded by a bowler is determined as the total number of runs that the opposing side have scored while the bowler was bowling, excluding any [[Bye (cricket)|bye]]s, [[leg bye]]s,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/rules_and_equipment/4181604.stm |title=Understanding byes and leg byes |work=BBC Sport |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref> or [[penalty run]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-42-fair-and-unfair-play,68,AR.html |title=Law 42 (Fair and unfair play) |publisher=[[Marylebone Cricket Club]] |year=2010 |access-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105121449/http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-42-fair-and-unfair-play%2C68%2CAR.html |archive-date=5 January 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The bowler receives credit for any wickets taken during their bowling that are either [[bowled]], [[caught]], [[hit wicket]], [[leg before wicket]] or [[stumped]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lords.org/data/files/laws-of-cricket-2000-code-4th-edition-final-10422.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923034426/http://www.lords.org/data/files/laws-of-cricket-2000-code-4th-edition-final-10422.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 September 2010 |title=The Laws of Cricket (2000 Code 4th Edition – 2010) |publisher=Marylebone Cricket Club |year=2010 |pages=42–49 |access-date=6 January 2013 }}</ref>

<math>\mathrm{Bowling~average} = \frac{\mathrm{Runs~conceded}}{\mathrm{Wickets~taken}}</math>

A number of flaws have been identified for the statistic, most notable among these the fact that a bowler who has taken no wickets cannot have a bowling average, as [[Division by zero|dividing by zero]] does not give a result. The effect of this is that the bowling average cannot distinguish between a bowler who has taken no wickets and conceded one run, and a bowler who has taken no wickets and conceded one hundred runs. The bowling average also does not tend to give a true reflection of the bowler's ability when the number of wickets they have taken is small, especially in comparison to the number of runs they have conceded.<ref name="PvS3">van Staden (2008), p. 3.</ref> In his paper proposing an alternative method of judging batsmen and bowlers, Paul van Staden gives an example of this:

<blockquote>Suppose a bowler has bowled a total of 80 balls, conceded 60 runs and has taken only 2 wickets so that.. [their average is] 30. If the bowler takes a wicket with the next ball bowled (no runs obviously conceded), then [their average is] 20.<ref name="PvS3"/></blockquote>

Due to this, when establishing records for bowling averages, qualification criteria are generally set. For [[Test cricket]], the ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'' sets this as 75 wickets,<ref name="WTest">{{cite book |editor-first=Scyld |editor-last=Berry |editor-link=Scyld Berry |title=[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2011]] |edition=148 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wisden & Co. Ltd |location=Alton, Hampshire |isbn=978-1-4081-3130-5|page=1358}}</ref> while [[ESPNcricinfo]] requires 2,000 [[Delivery (cricket)|deliveries]].<ref name="CITest">{{cite news|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283256.html |title=Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Best career bowling average |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref> Similar restrictions are set for [[Limited overs cricket|one-day cricket]].<ref name="CIODI">{{cite news|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283257.html |title=Records / One-Day Internationals / Bowling records / Best career bowling average |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="CIT20I">{{cite news|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283258.html |title=Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Bowling records / Best career bowling average |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref>