Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Why does my player not show in the selection list on the scorecard but shows in the list of players?

It will be either that the player is not assigned to the respective club or they are set as inactive. Check the player's "Current Club" field in their player record by clicking on Players in the top menu and then the edit symbol next to the specific player. Also, check that the player is active by ensuring their "Active" field is on. If the players still don't show then check that the teams involved are actually members of the correct clubs via the Teams menu item.

Q2. What should I do to secure my Cricket Statz database?

Some tips on how to improve security of your database:

Don't share generic email accounts/passwords amongst groups of users - create a single user record for each individual user (it is more secure and you will be able to audit exactly who has edited what)
Use a unique password (one that isn't used elsewhere) for your login and use a password manager to help you remember it
Don't give users more access than they need - give only the minimum access level required
Remove users that no longer need access

Q3. I have 1000 matches in my database over many seasons. Does that mean I need to subscribe to the 1000 match subscription level?

No, you only need to subscribe to the number of matches that you expect to play over your 12 month subscription period. Matches played prior to the start of your current subscription period do not count towards the match count.

Q4. I have just entered a match but the stats from that match aren't included in reports. How do I get them to show?

You probably have your database set up to require matches to be approved. Matches need to be "Approved" before the the stats from the match appear in any of the reports. If you have access to approve matches then go into the match details via the admin panel, click the "Approved - Yes" button and hit save. We have this function so that admins can add other users to the system to help enter scorecards while still retaining control over what is approved.

If you don't need match approval as part of your process then you can switch it off via the DB Config section of the Setup menu in the admin panel.

Q5. How do I enter a batter retirement so that partnerships are calculated correctly?

For retired (not out): Set their howout to "retired" and enter the current wickets fallen and team score in the Retirements section of the scorecard for each batter that retires (not out). For example, if an opener retires at a team score of 50 and no wicket has fallen then they retire at FOW 0/score 50. If another batter retires when 2 wickets have already fallen and the team score is 100 then they retire at FOW 2/score 100. If the retiring batter does not return then you can safely leave the "returns at" section blank. Do not enter anything in the normal FOW section for retired not out batters. Cricket Statz will use retirement information to assign partnership runs to the active batters. eg. If batter A and batter B have a partnership of 50 runs before batter A retires (not out) and batter C joins the crease and then batter A and C put on another 20 runs before batter A gets out then two separate partnerships will be recorded: 50 runs for A&B and 20 runs for A&C.

For retired (out): Set their howout to "retired out" and enter their FOW as normal. Do not enter such players in the retirement section.

Q6. How can I copy my stats and match data from Cricket Statz so I can preserve the club history?

All stats reports can be copied to a spreadsheet where you can save the stats for your own safe-keeping. See our guide on how to do this. The complete player summary report (from the admin panel reports function) is a full report of the stats for all of your players and is a great way to safely store your stats offline. Other reports such as match scorecards or player pages can also be copied using the same process. Alternatively, stats and match reports can be printed to PDFs for safe keeping via the print function in your browser.

Those with access level 8 can also download a JSON extract of your entire database by selecting Setup/Extract from the admin panel. This is an extract of all the matches in your database in a human-readable JSON format for your own records. JSON is the most common data format in the world. The extract file can be opened by any text file viewer such as Notepad. It is recommended to do this regularly and store it safely.

Q7. Can Cricket Statz import matches from national cricket results services to save me from entering it all manually?

Yes! This can be done for a wide range of 3rd party services from the admin panel. Choose Import from the top menu to get started. More details

Q8. Where can I increase or decrease the number of players on a scorecard?

You can do this on a division by division basis. Go into the admin panel, click Setup and then Divisions. Edit your division and you will be able to choose the maximum number of players on a scorecard.

Q9. How does Cricket Statz backup work and what are our obligations?

The Cricket Statz system will do an automated database backup daily. This is aimed at providing restore points for all databases in the event of a system failure. In simple terms, if the Cricket Statz system fails then we will restore all data but may lose any matches or records entered after the latest daily backup point.

Note that this does not protect against your users deleting matches or any other records. Record deletion within the system cannot be automatically restored. If you or your users delete a match then you will need to re-enter it if you wish to have it restored. Consequently, we encourage users to keep external records of their matches and to do a regular extract of the online database - see Q6 for further details on how to do an extract.

Q10. Subscription plans are based on the maximum number of matches played. How is this calculated?

The system will count the number of matches that are in the database from the start of your current subscription period through to the current day. If this count matches or exceeds your annual plan maximum match level then you will not be able to add or import any new matches until you increase your plan level or until your current subscription period ends. You can see your subscription period, the matches played since and a usage bar at the top of the Purchase page within the admin panel. See Q14 for what you can do when you reach your match limit.

Q11. When I import a match, the team/player/division/venue name in Cricket Statz does not match the import data and the import ends with a "cannot find" message. How do I fix this?

There is a special field in the team/player/division/venue records called an "alias". You can find the alias field when you edit the respective record. The alias field is used to help match names during a match import. For example, if the division name in your database is "A Grade" but the import data shows it as "Grade A" then you can set the alias for that division to be "Grade A" to allow it to be matched (just don't put any quotes around it when you enter it). You only need to set up the alias once and all subsequent imports will automatically assign it to that record. An alias can also solve the problem of import names that exceed the maximum field length. Aliases are not case sensitive and multiple aliases can be entered for the one record by separating them with a semicolon (;) with no spaces either side.

Q12. What is the difference between clubs and teams and how should I name my teams?

A club is a collection of one or more teams. A club will have a name such as "Easts Cricket Club". Within a club, you will have one or more teams. For example, you may have an "Easts 1sts", "Easts 2nds", "Easts Juniors". If you have only one team then you will probably just name the team "Easts".

Q13. What happens when my annual subscription expires?

All of your match data will still be in our database for 12 months from expiry but the reports will cease showing any data until you renew your subscription to the service. Your database will be permanently deleted some time after 12 months of expiry. Tip: if you have an old database that you wish to keep around, and you are not entering any new matches, then you only need to purchase the smallest annual subscription to keep all the reports visible.

Q14. What if we reach the annual match limit?

A subscription plan provides you with a maximum number of matches that can be played over a twelve month subscription period - see Q10 for details on how this is calculated. If you reach or exceed this maximum number of matches during the course of your subscription year then the system will no longer allow you to import or add any new matches until you increase your subscription plan (or, for multi-year subscriptions, until your current subscription period resets).

You can purchase a mid-term plan upgrade to increase your match limit via the Purchase button from within the admin panel. The mid-term upgrade fee is calculated as the difference between the cost of your current plan and the new plan plus a $9 payment fee. If you originally purchased a two-year subscription but you are still in your first year when you do a mid-term upgrade then the upgrade will increase the match limit for the second year as well. Note that the mid-term upgrade only increases your match limit - it will not reset your match count or extend your current subscription period.

Q15. How can I add an additional database for my juniors or women's teams?

It is common to have a separate database for juniors or women's teams to cleanly separate your stats and results for these groups. To add a new database simply select Setup/Create New Database in the admin panel to add a new database.

You will be able to move between your databases by using the "Switch" button from within the admin panel. Note that you will need to subscribe to any new database independently of any others that you may have.

Q16. I want to enter scorecard info for my club only. What is the most efficient way of doing this?

Scorecard entry is very flexible and allows for only one side's details to be entered. If your club is batting then enter batter names, their scores/howouts, FOW info, the innings extras and total overs. Leave opposition bowlers and fielders blank and don't enter any bowling details. If your club is bowling then enter the bowling details, total runouts and innings extras. In the batting section you should enter the howout, fielder and bowler but leave the batter name, batter scores and FOW info blank. Innings totals will be auto calculated from either the batting or the bowling figures - whichever has been completed. Obviously the innings total checks for batting and bowling won't match - but these checks can be ignored.

If you are importing matches but you are only tracking players from your club then you can safely ignore the "Cannot match player name" warnings for opposition players. Such player names will just show as blanks on the scorecard. Tip: You can configure how a blank player is shown in Setup/Stats Site Config. You can also turn off links to opposition players.

Q17. I am still running the old PC-based software. How can I move my stats online?

Cricket Statz has a historical data manager function that will allow you to enter/import player summary stats from your pre-existing stats data. It can be accessed via Setup/History. Exporting the Complete Player Summary report in the old PC software to a spreadsheet will give you this player summary data. See the Managing Historical Data guide for details on how to import it. Note that after more than 5 years of operation, the PC-software database migration service ended in 2023 and is no longer available.

Q18. How does the MVP points system work?

The MVP points system allows you to assign most valuable player (MVP) points on a match by match basis. First off you need to make sure you have MVP points enabled in the division settings - you can do this via Setup/Divisions and click edit 'details' next to the division. Once enabled, a new column will appear on each match scorecard - allowing you to assign MVP points to each player on a match by match basis. You can use this to assign a player of the match by giving them 1 point. Alternatively you can assign more points based on the player's match/innings performance. You can then view the points via the MVP Points report. This can be filtered by season or date range.

Also, check out the separate "Player Points" report in the admin panel/Reports section where you can assign points to runs, wickets, catches, etc and it will auto-calculate the total points.

Q19. How is the best way to get help/support?

Post up questions in our reddit community or use the contact form and we will respond via email.

Q20. If an existing player changes clubs then what should I do in the system?

Players change clubs regularly. All you need to do in this instance is edit their player record and change their "current club" to the new club. Their playing history will still be associated with their old teams/clubs. Do not create a duplicate player record for them.

Q21. I have old match data that just lists the teams played, total wickets, total runs scored and match result. No individual player scores. How can I enter this?

Create the match fixture as normal. Update the match details with the match result. For each innings use the Innings Override fields at the bottom of the innings scorecard entry page to record the innings wickets and runs. You don't need to enter any individual batting or bowling results - just leave these blank.

Q22. Our club/league used Cricket Statz in the past but stopped some time back. How can I get access to my old stats?

You need to contact the administrator of your club/league and ask them for your old stats. Administrators typically make a copy of their stats for record-keeping purposes before their subscription expires. Once a database expires then stats reports can no longer be run via our system and expired databases are deleted after 12 months of expiry.

Q23. How do I ensure the Net Run Rate (NRR) is calculated correctly on the points table report?

Work through the following in order: Ensure the innings MaxOvers field is set where the batting team is all out. If the match has reduced overs due to a delayed start or a delay in innings 1 then change the MaxOvers entry in both innings to the new reduced overs value. If the match had a delay in innings 2 and the 2nd batting team was given a new target then enter the target runs and overs in the D/L:Revised Target fields on the match details page. Use the latest revision. If the match was abandoned in the 2nd innings but a result was determined by D/L then tick the D/L:Play Abandoned box.

If you don't need NRR calculated then you can leave these fields blank.

Q24. We are a very small club. What are our subscription options?

Our smallest plan on offer - the Small Club plan - is the solution for you. It is designed for clubs with up to 4 teams and gives you ample matches per year. The Small Club plan is the most affordable plan available. See pricing.

Q25. How can I anonymise a player record when they (or their guardian) requests it?

The recommended approach is to change their last name in their player record to something like "anon" or "****" and their first name to a number such as X12345. The number should be unique to each anonymised player so that their stats don't get aggregated with other anonymised players. Keep a private record of this number. This will allow it to be backed out in the future (should it be required) and the player's stats will still be accurately shown on stats reports with a name X **** in the meantime.

Another approach is to either leave the player name blank or assign the player entry to a generic player record when entering the scorecard - both options offer a greater level of anonymity but the downside is that they aren't easily backed out and these players won't be accurately listed on the stats reports. If you choose the generic player record approach then be sure to set the "hide" (from stats) status on the generic player record so that it doesn't top most of your aggregate stats.

Q26. How does the system calculate innings totals for pre-1985 matches when batting scores haven't been entered?

Prior to around 1985, wides and noballs were not added to the "runs against" for the bowlers. They were treated the same as leg byes and byes and only recorded against the innings. Here is an example match. When Cricket Statz tries to work out the innings total for innings where the batter scores have not been entered, it has to resort to the sum of the runs in the bowling figures + byes + leg byes. Since wides/noballs weren't included in bowling figures for pre-1985 matches, it also adds in the inning's wides and noballs for these matches.

Q27. How can I delete a database?

Contact us with your database name we will be able to remove your database for you. Naturally, we will verify that you own the database prior to doing this.

Q28. My club has changed names a few times over the years. How is the best way to include stats from matches played under the old club name/s?

Then the best way to handle this is to create separate team names for the old club but still have them all linked to your current club. For example, if your club is called Easts CC today, but you were once called Wests CC and you want to capture matches played by the old Wests teams in your stats. You would already have Easts CC as your club. You would then create one or more teams called something like Wests 1st XI (for example) but link this team to your current Easts CC club as its club. Team names then show up as Wests 1st XI on the match reports but the stats would be included at Easts club-level since, behind the scenes, the Wests team is linked to your current Easts CC club. Don't link Wests 1st XI to a Wests CC club record or you won't be able to run aggregated club-level stats. For anyone just reading this and wishing they had done it earlier - it is easy to change - just create the (old club) team record, set its club as your current club and then update the match fixtures to swap in the team name. Your scorecard's players, scores and results won't be lost.

Q29. I produce stats for a single club. How do I best configure the Stats Site?

Most single-club users should have their stats site set to single-club mode. This is configured via Setup/Stats Site Config where you select your club for the question "Show stats/results for a single club". What this mode does is focuses visitors of your stats site on stats from your club and players only. Visitors won't be able to change to other clubs, filter reports for other clubs and opposition players and teams won't appear on the stats reports. If you originally chose "I run stats for a single club" when you created your database then this will be already set for you.

There may be situations where you want some of your users to see opposition stats. There are two ways of achieving this. If it is a small number of specific users (such as club coaches) then consider giving them level 1 "read-only" access as a user to the admin panel where they have open use of all the reports and filters. The other option is to switch the Stats Site Config over to show "all clubs" for the general public - this will allow the public to move to other clubs in your database and filter the stats reports for these clubs.

Q30. Does our public Cricket Statz stats site use cookies?

The stats site only uses session cookies. There are considered to be "strictly necessary" under GDPR and they don't need user consent since they are 1st party issued and "required" for web site navigation. The stats site doesn't use any form of 3rd party tracking or advertising cookies.

Q31. When does a player count as having played in a match?

A player will get a +1 in their match count if they are listed on the batting card of an innings regardless of the match result. If you don't want a match counted due to it being cancelled before play commenced then be sure not to add any players to the batting cards of the match or preferably don't add any innings to the match. If a match has commenced but then abandoned and you want it to count as a match then enter all players on the batting cards for each team's first innings.