A bowler finishes his spell and the figures read 10-1-38-2. The commentator says he's "conceded 38 off his ten." Nobody stops to explain what that word is doing there instead of just "scored" or "given up" — but it's not random, and once you know it, you'll hear it everywhere in cricket commentary.
The Basic Definition
To concede in cricket means to give up runs, a boundary, or occasionally a lead, as the bowling or fielding side. A bowler concedes runs off the bat, off extras like wides and no-balls, or a mix of both. It's simply the runs scored against that bowler's figures for the innings, recorded neutrally rather than as a judgment on how well or badly they bowled.
Where You'll See It: Bowling Figures
Every bowler's figures on a scorecard follow the same shorthand: overs bowled, maidens, runs conceded, wickets taken. A line reading 10-1-38-2 means 10 overs bowled, 1 maiden over, 38 runs conceded, and 2 wickets. That third number, runs conceded, is the one doing all the work in "how expensive was this bowler today."
Runs Conceded vs Economy Rate
Runs conceded on its own doesn't tell you much without context — 38 off 4 overs is very different from 38 off 10. That's why bowlers are usually judged on economy rate: runs conceded divided by overs bowled. A bowler at an economy rate of 4.0 is conceding four runs an over on average; one at 9.0 is being taken apart. The most infamous number in this category for years belonged to Mick Lewis, who conceded 113 runs off his 10 overs for Australia against South Africa in Johannesburg on 12 March 2006, delivered in the same "438 game" where South Africa chased down Australia's 434 with a ball to spare. He never played international cricket again. That record eventually fell to Bas de Leede of the Netherlands, who conceded 115 off his 10 overs against Australia at the 2023 World Cup in Delhi — still the current record for the most expensive bowling figures in ODI history.
Conceding a Boundary, a Six, or a Chance
The word isn't limited to a bowler's own figures. A fielding side "concedes a boundary" when a shot beats the field to the rope, or "concedes a chance" when a mistimed shot survives a drop. None of this necessarily implies an error — a well-bowled ball that's still driven for four is conceded all the same, not "allowed."
Conceding a Lead
In Test cricket, a team that scores fewer runs than the opposition in the first innings has conceded a lead. If Team A makes 320 and Team B replies with 280, Team B has conceded a 40-run first-innings lead, a number that shapes the rest of the match: how aggressively the team batting second can declare, how much time is left, what a "safe" target looks like from there.
Why "Conceded" Instead of "Scored"
Cricket keeps deliberately neutral language for the bowling and fielding side because the same event looks completely different depending on which side of the ball you're on. A batter "scores" runs; a bowler "concedes" them. It isn't a verdict on the bowler's ability — a beautifully bowled yorker driven for four is conceded all the same — it's simply which column that run belongs in.
Next time a commentator notes what a bowler has "conceded," you'll know exactly what that number is doing, and why it's the one that decides whether a spell gets remembered as economical or expensive.
Want more cricket terms explained properly? Browse the full Cricket Codex, see how Net Run Rate turns runs conceded into the number that decides who progresses in a group stage, or find out why a completely unrelated achievement also borrows the word "maiden."
