A lack of well-manned and organized scoreboards is just one reason for the usage of Shambollockry.

Scoring in Grades cricket can be chaotic, due in no small part, to most clubs relying on players taking turns at scoring. The resulting mish-mash of different handwriting styles, pens used and occasional ignorance, can reduce what should be well-ordered data, into indecipherable hieroglyphics. Basic errors, such as missing an extra or awarding runs to the wrong batsman, can make tallying up the final totals very problematical. In such cases, a process of hurried number manipulation is undertaken and although it may appear a dubious practice, it is very rarely used to cheat.

This process has a variety of names ("Cheating", "Fiddling", "Sorting the mess oot") but the general term used is Shambollockry. The need for Shambollockry is usually attributed to most Grades clubs not having a dedicated scorer and the resultant requirement of players to take on the scoring duties, usually in a rudimentary rota system. The attention span of most players is miniscule, at the best of times, and they are naturally more interested in the action on the field and will, as a consequence miss details that need to be recorded in the scorebook.

Shambollockry is a universally accepted process.