[eszed]

If that's a serious question, it's because as printed scores are also communicating the game situation. It could be as simple as

    End of day three: NZ 558 - Eng 354

That's factually accurate, but wouldn't tell you much about where the match actually stands. Breaking the runs totals by innings and showing wickets taken lets a reader infer a great deal more detail.

I can't remember where I read it, but I recall a distinction being made between "open" games and "patterned" games. "Open" games, like football, have very few repetitive elements: action is continuous, and every possession is entirely different (eg, ball and players at different starting positions) than the next. Cricket has discontinuous action, and each passage of play begins in the same manner. "Open" games are difficult to notate, and not much about the game itself can be inferred from the scoreline alone; for instance, in your example, the Mariners might have dominated possession, had multiple shots turned away, and felt unlucky in defeat - or else the complete opposite! "Patterned" games are easier to notate, and more about them can be efficiently communicated, because there's much more shared state. Chess, the ultimate patterned game, can be written down in a more-or-less complete form for later study!

[Edit: Please take this thread into the MC weeds! Lol. I want to see HN heads explode.)