Why Sample-Size Floors?
A batter who scores 50 from 10 balls has a strike rate of 500. That is not a meaningful ranking — it is a small-sample artefact. A bowler who takes 3 wickets from 12 balls has an economy of 15. That does not mean they are the most expensive bowler in the competition.
Sample-size floors exist to protect the credibility of ranked claims. Every CricketStudio OKF ranking applies a minimum data threshold. Claims about players below the floor are either suppressed from rankings or clearly disclosed as sub-floor.
Standard Cricket OKF Sample-Size Floors
Batting
| Context | Floor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Career / season aggregate | ≥ 30 balls faced | Minimum before batting SR or average is rankable |
| Powerplay phase | ≥ 60 balls faced in powerplay | Overs 1–6 across the relevant dataset |
| Middle overs phase | ≥ 60 balls faced in middle overs | Overs 7–15 across the relevant dataset |
| Death overs phase | ≥ 60 balls faced in death overs | Overs 16–20 across the relevant dataset |
Bowling
| Context | Floor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Career / season aggregate | ≥ 15 balls bowled | Minimum before economy or bowling SR is rankable |
| Powerplay phase | ≥ 30 balls bowled in powerplay | Overs 1–6 |
| Middle overs phase | ≥ 30 balls bowled in middle overs | Overs 7–15 |
| Death overs phase | ≥ 30 balls bowled in death overs | Overs 16–20 |
Head-to-Head (H2H)
| Context | Floor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Batter vs bowler H2H | ≥ 5 balls faced | Minimum for a H2H claim to be meaningful |
Venue
| Context | Floor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Venue stat (chase rate, innings avg, toss) | ≥ 3 matches | Minimum before a venue pattern claim |
Appearances / Matches
| Context | Floor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All-time appearances ranking | ≥ 3 matches | Minimum before listing in an all-time appearances leaderboard |
How Floors Are Declared in Metric Files
Every metric file in the OKF bundle must state its floor explicitly. Example from batting-strike-rate:
## Sample-Size Floor
Minimum 30 balls faced (career or seasonal aggregate).
For phase-specific SR: minimum 60 balls in that phase.
Players below floor may not appear in ranked lists.
The floor value must appear in the metric file. The validator warns if it is absent.
How Leaderboard Files Declare Floors
Leaderboard files state the floor in frontmatter and the markdown body:
# in frontmatter
provenance:
source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 · 75 MLC matches · 2026-06-20
notes: "Floor: ≥30 powerplay balls faced."
**Floor:** ≥30 powerplay balls faced (overs 1–6) across MLC 2023–2025.
Players below floor are excluded from this ranking.
What to Say When a Player Is Below Floor
If a user asks about a player who is below the floor for a given metric:
Correct behavior:
[Player Name] has faced only [N] balls in the powerplay across MLC 2023–2025. The minimum for ranking is 60 balls — they do not qualify for this leaderboard. Raw stats are available; a ranking comparison would not be meaningful at this sample size.
Incorrect behavior:
[Player Name] has a powerplay SR of 250.0 — the best in MLC. ← (No floor check; fabricates authority.)
Sub-Floor Disclosure Rule
When publishing a claim about a sub-floor player outside of a ranked list context (e.g., a profile page or specific question), disclose the sample size and note it is below the standard floor:
Note: N Pooran's death-over economy across MLC 2023–2025 is based on 18 balls bowled —
below the 30-ball floor for a ranked economy claim. Use this figure as a directional
indicator only; do not cite it in a ranked comparison.
Floor Rationale
These floors are not arbitrary — they reflect the minimum data needed to distinguish real signal from noise in T20 cricket:
- 30 balls (batting): ~5 T20 innings at 6 balls per appearance. Enough for a stable SR estimate but still noise-sensitive for phase stats.
- 60 balls (phase): A player who bats in a phase regularly enough to have consistent phase behavior. 10 powerplay appearances at 6 balls each.
- 15 balls (bowling): ~2–3 T20 spells. Enough for a stable economy signal.
- 5 deliveries (H2H): A repeated matchup. Below this, the H2H is anecdotal.
- 3 matches (venue): Enough for a minimal pattern; single-match venue claims are excluded.
Cross-Competition Floor Rule
When a claim compares players across competitions (IPL + MLC + T20I), the floor applies per competition — a player must meet the floor in each competition they are ranked in. Do not aggregate balls across competitions to meet a floor.
Agent Behavior Summary
- Always check the floor before citing a ranked claim.
- Never present a sub-floor player as a ranked result.
- If a user asks for a ranking and the player is sub-floor, say so explicitly.
- If the leaderboard file states a floor, reproduce it in the citation.
- Do not invent a floor. Use the value declared in the metric or leaderboard file.