Zero Median Runs: Zero Is Data, 'Did Not Play' Is Not

Treat 0 as a real value but leave out missing ones, and choose sensible data to average: England's 407 and Sita's mango tree.

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Zero Counts, Blanks Don't

A score of 0 is data; a match not played is no data.

A batter who scores 0 played and scored nothing. Include it.
A batter who did not play has no value. Leave it out, and don't count that match.

Scores 57, 13, 0, 84, —, 51, 27: divide by 6, not 7.

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How a team scored 407 while its middle batter scored 0.

Problem. In a Test match in July 2025, England scored 407 all out. Can the median score of their batters really be 0? (Textbook p. 111)

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0 is a value; 'did not play' or 'absent' is not.

Zero or missing?

Include 0 when it was a real result: a duck, or no mangoes in a mango month.

Leave out missing entries (did not play, absent) and count one fewer value.

Choose sensible data: average mangoes over the mango season, not the whole year.

Find the mean and median using only the mango months.

0 of 3 blanks filled

Textbook p. 111. Mango months, March to July: 8, 24, 41, 16, 5.

Total = 94, so the mean = 94 ÷ 5 =

Sorted: 5, 8, 16, 24, 41. Median =

Over all 12 months the mean would be only 94 ÷ 12 ≈ (to 2 decimal places), which is misleading.

Averages when players missed games or scored zero.

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Player A scored 14, 16, 10, 10. Mean? (Textbook p. 129, Q2)