MasterstrokeMatch play and rules
Over
Six legal deliveries from one end by one bowler. Wides and no-balls do not count, and the same bowler cannot bowl two overs in a row.
An over is a set of six legal deliveries bowled by one bowler from one end of the pitch.
Wides and no-balls do not count towards the six, so an over can contain seven, eight or more balls. At the end of each over the fielding side changes ends and a different bowler must take over: no bowler may bowl consecutive overs. Limited-overs formats cap how many overs a single bowler may deliver in an innings, four in a T20 and ten in an ODI. 100-ball cricket replaces the over with five-ball sets.
The over is the unit in which almost everything is measured. Scoring is expressed as runs per over, or run rate; a bowler's cost as runs per over, or economy. It is also the unit of tactical decision: who bowls next, which end they bowl from, and which batter will be on strike for the first ball.
Notation such as "17.3 overs" means 17 complete overs and three balls, not 17.3 in decimal. That matters when you calculate run rates, where 17.3 overs is 17.5 overs of cricket.
In Masterstroke: the over strip on the match screen shows every ball of the current over, so you can see the shape of it before you decide what to call next.