How to Read Cricket Graphs: Worm and Manhattan Charts Explained
Updated: 31 October 2026 · Author: Cricket Match Scorecard Editorial
A scorecard tells you what happened in an innings. A graph shows you when. Two charts come up in nearly every limited-overs match: the worm and the Manhattan. With a little practice, you can read the story of a game from them in seconds.
The worm graph
A worm is a line chart with overs along the bottom and total runs up the side. Each team has its own line, climbing as runs are scored. Dots or markers along the line show when wickets fell.
What to look for
- Steepness. A steep section means fast scoring and a flat section means slow scoring. The slope is the run rate.
- The gap between lines. In a chase, if the second team's line is above the first team's at the same over, it is ahead of where its opponent was.
- Clusters of wickets. Several markers close together often point to the moment a match turned.
- The curve at the end. Most limited-overs innings steepen towards the end. A worm that does not may show a team that lost too many wickets to accelerate.
A word of caution
Being ahead of the other team's line does not always mean you are winning, because wickets count. A team level on the worm with nine wickets down is in a far worse position than the team that set the target was at the same point.
The Manhattan graph
A Manhattan is a bar chart, with one bar per over showing the runs scored in that over. It gets its name because it looks like the skyline of New York. Wickets are usually marked on top of the bars.
What to look for
- The first six bars in a T20. These show the powerplay. See our powerplay guide for why they tend to be tall.
- A dip in the middle. Lower bars around overs 7–14 often mean spinners were controlling the game.
- A big bar. A sudden skyscraper of 20+ runs can show one bowler's expensive over, often the turning point.
- Bar sizes after wickets. If bars shrink right after a dismissal, the new batter took time to settle.
Worm vs Manhattan: when to use each
| Question | Use |
|---|---|
| Who was ahead at the same stage of the match? | Worm |
| How did the chase compare over by over? | Worm |
| Which over was the most expensive? | Manhattan |
| When did the team's scoring slow down? | Manhattan |
Reading a chase, step by step
Suppose you open a match after it finished, and the chasing side won in the final over. Try this order:
- Look at the worm's end. Did the chasing line cross the other only in the last few overs? If so, the team was behind for most of the chase.
- Find where the lines were closest or crossed. That shows the period the game swung.
- Open the Manhattan for that period. Find the big over or overs that made the difference.
- Check who was bowling and batting. Now the bowling figures from the scorecard explain the graph.
Where to find them on this site
Open any match with ball-by-ball data from live scores or today's matches and choose the Graphs tab, which shows worm and runs-per-over charts. These are built from the delivery data for that match, so the chart for a match in progress updates as it goes along.
What graphs cannot tell you
- Pitch conditions. A team batting second may have had dew or a slowing pitch to deal with.
- Interruptions. Rain and revised targets can distort direct comparison between the two lines. See our DLS guide.
- Individual form. A strong team effort and one heroic innings can draw the same curve.
Used alongside the scorecard, though, graphs give you a quick and honest picture of how a match unfolded. To understand the slopes on the worm, read our run rate guide.