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How a Test Match Ends in a Draw, and Why a Draw Is Not a Tie

Why five days of Test cricket can end with no winner: Law 16, the race between overs and wickets, declarations, the last hour, and how draws differ from ties.

By Published 3 min read

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Key takeaways

  • To win a Test, a side must score more runs and also take all the opposition's wickets; run out of time first and the match is drawn.
  • A tie is different and far rarer: all four innings completed with the scores exactly level. Wikipedia counts only two tied Tests.
  • Captains declare to leave enough time to bowl the opposition out, trading runs for time to try to avoid a draw.
  • On the last day, the ICC requires at least 15 overs in the final hour, so a side batting for a draw knows roughly how long it must survive.
  • In the World Test Championship a draw earns 4 points, against 12 for a win and 6 for a tie.

To someone new to cricket, a five-day match that ends with no winner can sound like a mistake. In Test cricket it is one of the results the Laws provide for. Winning requires two things at once: more runs and enough wickets. If time runs out before one side achieves both, nobody has won, and Law 16 of the Laws of Cricket calls it a draw.

Two currencies: runs and time

In a limited-overs match, the innings ends when the overs run out, so one side's total is always compared with the other's. A Test has no overs limit per innings. Each side bats twice, and the match ends when the scheduled time is up, five days under the ICC's October 2026 Test playing conditions.

So the side batting last can avoid defeat without reaching its target, by simply not getting bowled out. Law 16 lists the results:

Result What has to happen
Win A side's total exceeds the opponents' total from their completed innings
Tie All innings are completed and the scores are equal
Draw Neither a win nor a tie (nor a match conceded or awarded), for example because time runs out

Why ties are so rare

A tie needs the fourth innings to end, all out, with the scores exactly level. Wikipedia's article on tied Tests records only two: Brisbane in 1960 and Madras, now Chennai, in 1986.

Declarations: buying time to win

Because time is limited, captains trade runs for time with a declaration: closing an innings before the side is all out. Law 15 allows the batting captain to declare at any time when the ball is dead, and to forfeit an innings before it starts, except in the final innings of the match, a restriction set out in Law 15 of the 2026 edition. Once announced, a declaration cannot be changed.

A declaration has to balance two risks: set too small a target and the opposition may chase it; leave too little time and they may survive for the draw. The follow-on is the other tool for the same problem, making a weaker side bat again immediately.

The last day and the last hour

The ICC's Test playing conditions fix how much cricket the last day contains. On days other than the last, at least 90 overs must be bowled. On the last day, at least 75 overs are due before the final hour, and then at least 15 overs in the last hour. A side batting for a draw therefore knows roughly how many balls it must survive.

A worked example. At the start of the final day, the fielding side needs six more wickets. With at least 75 overs due before the last hour and at least 15 in it, the batters must survive about 90 overs, 540 legal balls, while losing no more than five wickets. If they are 220 runs behind the target, a draw becomes the realistic aim, and survival rather than scoring shapes their batting.

Rain changes the arithmetic. The playing conditions reduce the minimum overs when time is lost and allow some lost time to be made up, but on the last day no time is made up for interruptions that start after the last hour begins.

How the pitch shapes the odds

Wikipedia's article on the pitch notes that, as a multi-day match goes on, the surface may crumble and favour spin bowling, which can make the last day harder to survive. It also records that the heavy roller was banned for the 2010 County Championship season because it was believed to create excessively flat pitches and contribute to drawn matches. How cricket pitches affect play explains why.

What a draw is worth

In the ICC World Test Championship, the playing conditions effective from October 2026 award points per match:

Result Points
Win 12
Tie 6
Draw 4
Loss 0

Teams are ranked by the percentage of available points they earn, after deductions for slow over rates, so a draw is worth a third of a win.

Test versus ODI versus T20 explains why only Tests can be drawn, and how long a cricket match lasts covers the hours behind each day. Batting for a draw tests concentration more than anything; in Cricket Sport Career Simulator, one of our sports career games, energy, morale and momentum are part of how a long innings goes.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How can a Test match end in a draw?
By running out of time. A Test is scheduled for five days, and to win, a side must both outscore the opposition and bowl them out, or score enough before they are bowled out. If the scheduled time ends before either happens, Law 16 makes the result a draw.
What is the difference between a draw and a tie?
A tie is when all innings are completed and the scores are equal. A draw is any other result in which neither side has won, for example because time ran out. Ties are extremely rare in Tests; Wikipedia records only two.
Can you declare in the last innings of a Test?
No. In the 2026 edition of the Laws, Law 15 allows a captain to declare an innings closed at any time, or forfeit an innings before it starts, with the exception of the final innings of the match.
How many points is a draw in the World Test Championship?
Four. The ICC's World Test Championship playing conditions award 12 points for a win, 6 for a tie, 4 for a draw and none for a loss, and rank teams by the percentage of available points they earn.

Sources

  1. The Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, 4th Edition (2026), Laws 15 and 16 (opens in a new tab)Marylebone Cricket Club — accessed
  2. ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  3. ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 Playing Conditions, effective October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  4. Tied Test (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
  5. Cricket pitch (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed

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