Against The Spin
describing the act of hitting a ball in the direction opposite to that in which it is spinning off the pitch, such as hitting an off break to the off side or a leg break to the leg side. cf. with the spin. |
Agricultural
(of a batting shot) unskilled, often lofting the ball into the air on the leg side. cf. cow shot. |
All Out
the state of a side having no more batsmen available to bat, thus ending its innings, even if some batsman have not yet batted but are unavailable due to injury. |
All-rounder
mängija, kes on ühtviisi tugev nii battimises kui ka pallimises ning kes teeb mängudes tihtipeale mõlemat. |
Appeal
the act (by the fielding side) of asking an umpire for a decision of whether a batsman is out or not. To make such an appeal. |
Arm Ball
a type of ball bowled by an off spin bowler, which has little or no spin on it. cf. zooter. |
Around The Wicket
describing the method of bowling in which a bowler delivers the ball from the side of the wicket that puts his dominant hand farther from the wicket; opposite of over the wicket. He decided to bowl around the wicket to the batsman. |
Ashes
Karikas, mille võitmiseks mängitakse Test matshid Austraalia ja Inglismaa vahel iga kahe aasta tagant. Seda Test turniiri tuntakse ka Ashes nime all. |
Attack
1. n. collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
2. v.i. to set a field or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
3. v.i. to bat aggressively, in order to score runs quickly.
4. v.t. to aim balls at the batsman's wicket. The bowler attacked the batsman's stumps. |
Attacking
1. adj. describing a bowling tactic designed to take wickets.
2. adj. describing a batting tactic designed to score runs quickly. |
Attacking Field
mängijate asetus mänguväljakul - mõeldud spetsiaalselt wicketite saamiseks ning tehes seda vastasmeeskonnale võimalike jooksude andmise hinnaga. |
Average
1. batting average ehk bättimise keskimine tulemus.
2. bowling average ehk pallimise keskmine tulemus. |
Away swing
outswing. |
Back Foot
batsmani jalg, mis on wicketile kõige lähemal, kutsutakse ka dominant foot või front foot. |
Back Foot Defencive
a type of batsman's shot played on the back foot by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, without swinging the bat, so that the ball loses momentum and drops quickly to the pitch, designed to defend the batsman's wicket and pads from being hit by the ball. |
Back Foot Shot
batsmani poolt sooritatud löök, kusjuures keharaskus toetatakse tagumisele jalale (back foot). |
Back Up
for the non-striker to leave his crease as the bowler bowls the ball to the striker and take a few steps down the pitch as a preparation to taking a run.
For a fielder to take a position behind a wicket relative to a team-mate who is fielding the ball and might throw it at the wicket, in order to stop the ball and prevent overthrows. |
Backward
1. adj. on the fraction of the field behind of the batsman's popping crease, from the batsman's perspective; synonym for behind.
2. adj. further in the direction behind the batsman's popping crease than something else being compared to. |
Backyard Cricket
1. n. an informal form of cricket played in suburban backyards, often with highly variant rules. |
Bad Light
1. n. weather condition in which the natural light is dim and, in the umpires' opinions, too poor to continue playing without risking injury to the batsmen, and in which the umpires will offer the light to the batsmen. |
Bail
1. üks puidust pulk, mis on asetatud kahele stumbile peale. Kokku kaks ning need kõik moodustavad wicketi. |
Ball
1. kriketi pall, mis on valmistatud korgist ning kaetud nahaga.
2. pallimise sünonüüm ehk siis see kui pallija palli batsmani poole viskab. |
Ball Tampering
1. n. the act of illegally modifying the condition of the cricket ball, by scuffing and roughening the surface, picking at or lifting the seam, or applying a substance other than saliva or sweat to it. |
Bat
1. n. the shaped wooden club used to hit the ball, made of willow with a cane handle.
2. v.i. (of an individual player) to take one's turn with a bat and attempt to score runs.
3. v.i. (of a side) to take its turn for all its batsmen to bat(2); to have its innings. |
Bat-Pad
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, square of the striker's wicket and very close to the batsman, a static position designed to catch the ball from a misplaced block or other defensive shot; synonym for short leg.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the bat-pad position. |
Batsman
1. n. a player of the batting side currently batting on the field.
2. n. the striking batsman; the striker.
3. n. a player selected for a cricket side mostly or solely for his batting ability.
4. n. any cricket player in the context of batting and scoring runs. |
Batting Average
1. n. a statistic for batsmen equal to the number of runs scored divided by the number of times out; on average the number of runs a batsman scores before getting out. |
Batting For The Average
1. v. (of a batsman) to bat conservatively, in order to preserve one's own wicket rather than to score runs, used pejoratively in the sense that the batsman is playing for the good of his own career statitics rather than the good of the team. |
Batting Gloves
1. n. protective gloves worn by a batsman, to protect the ball from hitting the fingers and hands. |
Batting Order
1. n. the sequence in which batsmen from a side go in to bat. |
Beamer
1. n. a ball that does not bounce on the pitch and passes the batsman at or about head height. |
Behind
1. adj. on the fraction of the field behind of the batsman's popping crease, from the batsman's perspective; synonym for backward.
2. adj. further in the direction behind the batsman's popping crease than somethig else. |
Benefit Of The Doubt
1. n. the principle applied by umpires whenever they are unsure of a decision concerning a batsman possibly being out, in which the decision made must be to the benefit of the batsman and not the fielding side. |
Best Bowling
1. n. a statistic representing the most valuable bowling figures in a given set - either over an individual's career, or a comparison between bowlers - being the bowling figures with the most number of wickets taken, with ties broken in favour of the fewest runs conceded. |
Block
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, without swinging the bat, so that the ball loses momentum and drops quickly to the pitch, designed to defend the batsman's wicket and pads from being hit by the ball; a front foot defensive.
2. v.i. to play a block shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a block.
4. n. a synonym for guard. |
Blockhole
1. n. a depression in the pitch caused by batsmen tapping their bats on the point where they have taken block. |
Board
1. n. a national governing body for cricket within a nation. |
Bodyline
1. n. a tactic employed by the fielding side in which fielders are placed near the batsman on the leg side and the bowlers bowl fast, short pitched balls aimed at the batsman, with the goal of making the batsman fend the ball away from his body and deflect the ball for a catch, first used by the English team touring Australia in 1932-33 and subsequently made illegal under the law governing fair play; synonym for leg theory but with greater connotations of foul play. |
Boots
1. n. the sports shoes worn by cricket players. |
Bosie
1. n. an archaic term for a googly. |
Bottom Edge
1. n. the edge of a cricket bat on the bottom as the bat is held horizontally.
2. n. a deflection of the cricket ball off the bottom edge of the striker's bat, usually travelling straight into the ground near the striker, potentially into his wicket. cf. inside edge, outside edge, top edge
3. v.t. to hit the ball with the bottom edge of the bat. |
Bottom Hand
1. n. a batsman's dominant hand, so called because it is further down the handle of the bat in a standard batting grip. |
Bottom Order
1. n. the batsmen who normally bat in roughly positions 8-11 in the batting order; the tail.
2. adj. describing a batsman who normally bats in the bottom order. |
Bounce
1. v.t. (of a bowler) to bowl a short pitched ball at a batsman so that the ball flies at or near the batsman's head. The bowler bounced the batsman to put him on the defensive. |
Bouncer
1. n. a short pitched ball that bounces up towards the height of the batsman's head or above as it passes the batsman. |
Boundary
1. n. the perimeter of a cricket field, marked by an obvious fence or marker.
2. n. a score of 4 runs by the ball reaching the boundary(1), or a score of 6 runs by the ball reaching the boundary(1) on the full.
3. n. a hit by the batsman which scores a boundary(2). |
Bowl
1. v.i. to hurl (a cricket ball) towards the batsman using a legal cricket bowling action.
2. v.i. to engage in a period of bowling several balls or overs.
3. v.t. to bowl(1) a cricket ball.
4. v.t. to get a batsman out bowled.
5. n. a turn at bowling. |
Bowl Out
1. v. for a side to take all the opponents wickets in an innings and thus end the innings, the wickets not necessarily being taken bowled. The side need to bowl out their opposition quickly. |
Bowled
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which the bowler bowls a ball and it hits and breaks the batsman's wicket.
2. v.t. (of a bowler) to have got a batsman out bowled. |
Bowled Out
1. n. the state of a batsman having been out bowled.
2. n. the state of an entire side of having lost all its wickets and its innings ended, the wicket not necessarily falling by the method of being bowled. The side was bowled out for 200 runs. 3. v. for a side to have taken all the opponents wickets in an innings and thus ended the innings, the wickets not necessarily being taken bowled; past tense of bowl out. The side bowled out their opposition for 200 runs. |
Bowler
1. n. a player of the fielding side currently bowling.
2. n. a player selected for a cricket side mostly or solely for his bowling ability.
3. n. any cricket player in the context of bowling and taking wickets. |
Bowling Average
1. n. a statistic for bowlers equal to the number of runs conceded divided by the number of wickets taken; on average the number of runs a bowler concedes for each wicket he takes. |
Bowling Crease
1. n. the white line marked on the pitch running through and parallel to each wicket, and ending at the return creases. |
Bowling Figures
1. n. a group of statistics listed for a bowler in a single innings, in order: the number of overs bowled, the number of maidens bowled, the number of runs conceded, the number of wickets(2) taken.
2. n. collectively, the bowling figures for all the bowlers who bowled in an innings. |
Box
1. n. a hard protector for the groin region, worn by a batsman inside the pants. |
Break
1. v.t. to dislodge one or both bails (of a wicket). If both bails are already off, to break the wicket a fielder must remove a stump from the ground with the ball in contact with the stump.
2. n. sideways deviation in the trajectory of a ball as it bounces on the pitch. cf. off break, leg break. |
Breeze
1. n. the wind blowing across a cricket field during play, no matter how strong. |
Broken
1. adj. the state of a wicket in which one or both bails have fallen off the stumps. |
Bump Ball
1. n. a ball that bounces on the pitch immediately after hitting the bat, then flies into the air, sometimes having the appearance of a ball hit in the air directly off the bat and which can cause spectators to assume the batsman can be caught out. |
Bumper
1. n. a bouncer. |
Bunny
1. n. colloquial term for a very poor batsman, usually selected for a team solely on bowling ability; synonym of rabbit. cf. ferret
2. n. colloquial term for a batsman, not necessarily a poor one, who tends to get out when facing a certain bowler. Jones was Smith's bunny. |
Bye
1. n. an extra run scored by the batting side when the batsmen take runs after the ball passes the striker without hitting either his bat or body. |
Call
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to shout or verbalise directions to the other batsman on whether they should attempt to take a run, not take a run, change their minds about taking a run, or any other indication of whether or not they should run.
2. v.t. to call to the other batsman. The striker called the non-striker through for a quick run.
3. n. the act of calling to the other batsman. They picked up a run after a good call.
4. n. the state of being the batsman whose role it is to call to the other batsman, usually being the striker if the ball is hit forward of square and the non-striker if the ball is hit behind square. The batsman got confused because the striker forgot it was the non-striker's call. 4. v.i. (of a fielder) to shout or verbalise to other fielders that one intends to take a catch, so as to avoid collisions between multiple fielders atempting to catch the same ball.
5. n. the act of calling to other fielders one's intention of taking a catch. |
Cap
1. n. the cap worn by a cricket player for protection from the sun.
2. n. the cap awarded to a player when first selected to play for a side.
3. n. the state of having been selected to play for a specific side. The new player won his cap for good play in the junior levels. 4. v.t. to select a player to play for a specified side. |
Captain
1. n. the player designated to lead a cricket side, making all strategic and tactical decision for his side within the game.
2. v.i. to act as a captain.
3. v.t. to act as the captain of a side. |
Card
1. n. a tabular presentation of the most important statistics of an innings or match, including batsmen's scores, how they were dismissed, extras, number of overs bowled, total score, and bowling figures; a scorecard. |
Carry The Bat
1. v. to bat throughout the entirety of a side's innings without getting out, being one of the openers and remaining the not out batsman when 10 wickets have fallen. |
Carry The Drinks
1. v. to act as twelfth man in a cricket side, so called because one of the twelfth man's duties is to take drinks out to the players during drinks breaks. |
Caught
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which a fielder catches a ball hit by the batsman.
2. v.t. (of a fielder) to have taken a catch to get a batsman out. The fielder caught the batsman.
3. v.i. (of a batsman) to get out caught. The batsman was caught. |
Caught And Bowled
1. adj. describing the state of having been out caught, with the catcher being the bowler.
2. v. (of a batsman) to get out caught and bowled. The batsman was caught and bowled. |
Caught Behind
1. adj. describing the state of having been out caught, with the catcher being the wicket-keeper.
2. v. (of a batsman) to get out caught behind. The batsman was caught behind. |
Century
1. n. a hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings; synonym for hundred.
2. n. a hundred runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which a hundred runs have been scored. There was a century partnership for the third wicket. |
Change Of Innings
1. n. the event of one side's innings ending and the other side's begining.
2. n. the 10-minute interval in play between successive innings. |
Charge
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to take several steps down the pitch towards the bowler, either just before or as he delivers the ball, in an attempt to disrupt the length of the delivery or put himself in a better position to hit the ball.
2. v.t. to charge at the ball or the bowler. The batsman charged the bowler as he let go of the ball. |
Chase
1. v.i. to bat in the last innings of a match and attempt to score the required number of runs to win. The other side batted first, so we were chasing.
2. v.t. to attempt to reach the required total number of runs to win. The side was chasing 250 runs.
3. n. the act of a side attempting to score the required number of runs to win a match; a run chase (2). |
Cherry
1. n. colloquial term for cricket ball, especially a red one.
2. n. the red stain left by a cricket ball on a cricket bat after being hit. |
Chin Music
1. n. colloquial term for bowling that is short and fast, and directed towards the batsman at around head height. Originally a West Indian term. |
Chinaman
1. n. a left arm unorthodox spin bowler.
2. n. a ball bowled by a left arm unorthodox spin bowler with the wrist action of a leg break, producing a ball which spins from the off to the leg to a right-handed batsman.
3. n. a ball bowled by a left arm unorthodox spin bowler with the wrist action of a googly, producing a ball which spins from the leg to the off to a right-handed batsman. (This definition is inconsistent with chinaman(2), but both usages occur.) |
Chuck
1. v.i. derogatory term for the action of a bowler who violates the rule prohibiting the straightening of the bowling arm during a delivery; to throw. That bowler chucks.
2. v.t. to chuck the ball. |
Chucker
1. n. derogatory term for a bowler who violates the rule prohibiting the straightening of the bowling arm during a delivery. |
Circle
1. n. an oval drawn on the field consisting of two semi-circles of radius 27.34m (30 yards) centred on the wickets, joined by parallel lines running parallel to the pitch, used to enforce field restrictions in a one-day match; the field restriction circle. |
Clean Bowled
1. n. the state of a batsman having been out bowled, with the ball not having touched either the bat or pad on the way to hitting the wicket. |
Close Of Play
1. n. the end of a day's play; stumps(3).
2. n. the score at the close of play. |
Close The Face
1. v. to turn the face of the bat inwards towards the batsman's body, usually in order to hit the ball to the leg side. |
Collapse
1. v.i. for several batsmen on the batting side to get out in quick succession. The middle order collapsed.
2. n. the event of several batsmen getting out in quick succession. The side was going well until they suffered a collapse. |
Come Out
1. n. to walk on to the field, usually a batsman walking out to begin his innings batting; synonym of go in. The new batsman came out to bat. |
Concede
1. v.t. (of a bowler) to have runs scored off one's bowling. The bowler conceded 50 runs in the innings. |
Cordon
1. n. the arc of fielders behind the batsman on the off side, consisting of the slips and gully. |
Corridor
1. n. the corridor of uncertainty. |
Corridor of Uncertainty
1. n. the area just outside the batsman's off stump, where if a ball passes the batsman may be unsure whether or not he should play at it. |
Cover
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 30 degrees forward of square, a position designed to prevent runs from cover drives, and defensive strokes on the off side; fielding position between point and mid off.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the cover position. |
Cover Drive
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat down in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, hitting the ball along the ground, in the direction of cover. cf. square drive, off drive, on drive
2. v.i. to play a cover drive shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a cover drive. |
Cover-Point
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 15 degrees forward of square, between cover and point.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the cover-point position. |
Covers
1. n. the area of the field near the cover and extra cover fielding positions.
2. n. the tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, or other devices used to cover the pitch during rain, to prevent the pitch getting wet. |
Cow Corner
1. n. colloquial term for the region of the field just backward of deep square leg, where unskilled batsmen tend to hit the ball in the air when attempting to hit hard and score boundaries. |
Cow Shot
1. n. colloquial term for a lofted shot played by a batsman towards cow corner. |
Crease
1. n. one of the white lines marked on the pitch to denote different areas of play; either the bowling crease, popping crease, or return crease.
2. n. the popping crease. |
Cricket
1. n. the name of the sport being defined; a team sport for two teams of eleven players each, with the goal of scoring more runs than the opposite team. |
Cross
1. v.i. (of both batsmen) to pass the other batsman while running from one wicket to the other in an attempt to score runs. The batsmen crossed just before the fielder caught the ball. |
Cross Bat
1. n. the bat being held horizontally and/or being swung in a horizontal arc. cf. straight bat.
2. adj. describing the bat being held or swung horizontally. He played a cross bat shot at that ball. |
Cut
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat in a horizontal arc to hit the ball to the point area or backward of point. The batsman used the cut to good effect.
2. adj. (of a batsman's shot) played with a horizontal bat to the point area or backward of point. The batsman played a cut shot.
3. v.i. to play a cut shot. The batsman cut ferociously.
4. v.t. to hit the ball with a cut. The batsman cut the ball ferociously.
5. n. sideways movement of the ball in its trajectory towards the batsman, caused by a fast bowler running his fingers down the side of the ball as he bowls it, thus giving it some spin. That ball had some cut on it.
6. v.t. to get the ball to move sideways by the bowler running his fingers down the side of the ball as he bowls it, thus giving it some spin. The bowler got movement by cutting the ball.
7. v.i. (of the ball) to move sideways off the pitch, often but not always due to cut(5) on the ball. That ball cut back in to the batsman. |
Cutter
1. n. a ball with cut(5) on it. cf. leg cutter and off cutter. |
Danger Area
1. n. the central rectangle of the pitch, on which bowlers may not run in their follow through as it may damage the pitch and make batting difficult; synonym for protected area. |
Dead
1. adj. the state (of the ball) in which play is not occurring, such that batsmen may not score runs or get out. |
Dead Ball
1. n. the ball when it is dead.
2. n. the indication or arm signal an umpire gives on certain occasions when the ball becomes dead. |
Dead Bat
1. n. the cricket bat being held with very little tension in the grip, so that it gives when the ball hits it, and the ball loses momentum and drops almost straight down on to the pitch.
2. v.i. to play with a dead bat(1). 3. v.t. to hit the ball with a dead bat(1). |
Deck
1. n. colloquial term for the pitch(1). |
Declaration
1. n. the act of declaring an innings closed. |
Declare
1. v.i. (for the captain) to announce the batting side's innings completed, before ten batsmen are dismissed.
2. v.t. to declare (an innings) closed. |
Deep
1. adj. describing a location on the field or a fielding position close to the boundary, or closer to the boundary than a position being compared to. cf. short. |
Deep Cover
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 30 degrees forward of square and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from cover drives.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the deep cover position. |
Deep Midwicket
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, about 30 degrees forward of square and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from pull shots or catch lofted pulls.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the deep midwicket position. |
Deep Point
1. n. fielding position on the off side, square of the striker's wicket and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from square drives or cut shots.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the deep point position. |
Deep Square Leg
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, square of the striker's wicket and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from pull or sweep shots or catch lofted pulls or hooks.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the deep square leg position. |
Defend
1. v.i. to set a field or bowl in a manner designed to save runs.
2. v.i. to bat cautiously, in order to make it as difficult as possible for the bowling side to get the batsman out.
3. v.t. to defend one's wicket from being hit by the ball. |
Defensive
1. adj. describing a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent runs being scored.
2. adj. describing a batting tactic designed to prevent getting out. |
Defensive Field
1. n. a field set with fielders in places designed to prevent runs, possibly at the expense of having catchers in place to take wickets. |
Did Not Bat
1. n. the state of a batsman who did not bat in an innings played by his side, abbreviated DNB. |
Dismiss
1. v.t. to get (a batsman) out. |
Dismissal
1. n. the event of a batsman getting out; synonym of wicket(2). The next dismissal occurred at 200 runs. |
DNB
1. n. abbreviation for did not bat. |
Dolly
1. n. a ball hit by the batsman in such a way that it lobs gently to a fielder for a simple catch.
2. v.t. to hit a dolly. The batsman dollied that ball right to the fielder at mid off. |
Doosra
1. n. a type of ball bowled by an off spin bowler, which spins from leg to off to a right-handed batsman, unlike a normal off break. |
Dot Ball
1. n. a ball from which no runs are scored, so named because scorers record such balls in a scorebook using a dot. |
Double
1. n. two runs scored off a single ball, by running between the wickets; synonym of two. |
Double Century
1. n. two hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings; synonym for double hundred. cf. century.
2. n. two hundred runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which two hundred runs have been scored. There was a double century partnership for the third wicket. |
Double Hundred
1. n. two hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings.
2. n. two hundred runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which two hundred runs have been scored. There was a double hundred partnership for the third wicket. |
Double Ton
1. n. two hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings; synonym for double hundred. cf. ton. |
Draw
1. n. the result of a two-innings match in which one or both sides did not complete all their innings before the allotted amount of time for play elapsed. cf. no result.
2. v.i. to finish (a match) drawn with the other side.
3. v.t. to finish (a match) drawn with the other side. |
Draw Stumps
1. v. to declare the day's play in a match over, and leave the field. |
Drift
1. n. sideways movement of the ball through the air on its flight towards the batsman when bowled by a spin bowler, may be caused by differential airflow around the spinning ball and/or the wind.
2 v.t. to achieve some drift with the ball. The bowler drifted the ball in to the batsman. |
Drinks
1. n. a brief break in play to allow the players to have drinks. |
Drive
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat down in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, hitting the ball along the ground, usually in the arc between cover and midwicket. cf. cover drive, square drive, off drive, on drive
2. v.i. to play a drive shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a drive. |
Duck
1. n. a batsman's score of zero runs, after getting out. The batsman got out for a duck. cf. golden duck. |
Duckworth/Lewis Method
1. n. a mathematical algorithm for generating revised target scores for the side batting second in a rain-affected one-day match, named after the devisers. |
Economy Rate
1. n. a statistic for bowlers equal to the number of runs conceded divided by the number of overs bowled; the number of runs scored off a bowler on average per over bowled. |
Edge
1. n. the edge of a cricket bat.
2. n. a deflection of the cricket ball off the edge of the striker's bat, usually travelling fine behind square, and often to the wicket-keeper or slips fielders for a catch. cf. inside edge, outside edge, top edge, bottom edge.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection. |
Eleven
1. n. a cricket team of eleven players.
2. n. the eleven players who play in a cricket match, excluding the twelfth man and any other designated substitutes. |
End
1. n. one of the ends of the pitch.
2. n. one of the parts of the cricket ground, in line with one of the two ends of the pitch, used as a descriptive name for that half of the ground. The bowler ran in from the River End of the ground. |
Extra
1. n. a run scored without the ball having hit the striker's bat; either a no ball, wide, bye, or leg bye; synonym of sundry. |
Extra Cover
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 45 degrees forward of square, between cover and mid off. |
Extras
1. n. plural of extra; synonym of sundries.
2. n. the total of all the extras scored in an innings. |
Face
1. n. the front surface of a cricket bat.
2. v.i. to be the striking batsman.
3. v.i. to be the striking batsman in the act of waiting for the bowler to bowl.
4. v.t. to be the striking batsman and have the ball approach after the bowler has released it. The batsman faced the ball and played it defensively. |
Fall
1. v.i. (of a wicket(2)) to occur. The next wicket fell at 200 runs. |
Fall Of Wicket
1. n. the side's total score at the time a particular batsman gets out; abbreviated FOW. The fifth fall of wicket was 300 runs. |
Farm
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to inspect and tap the pitch lightly with the bat in order to smooth out small rough patches and irregularities; synonym of garden. |
Farm The Strike
1. v. (of a batsman) to deliberately score runs or decline to take runs in order to ensure that one batsman (usually the more skilled) faces more balls as the striker than the other batsman. |
Farming
1. v.i. present participle of farm.
2. n. the act (of a batsman) of inspecting and tapping the pitch lightly with the bat in order to smooth out small rough patches and irregularities; synonym of gardening. |
Fast Bowler
1. n. a bowler specialising in bowling the ball fast, as opposed to a spin bowler. |
Fast Leg Theory
1. n. name used by the English touring side to Australia in 1932-33 to describe the Bodyline tactic employed by them in that series. cf. leg theory. |
Feather Bed
1. n. colloquial term for a pitch that is soft and flat, with a slow pace and predictable bounce, making batting easy. |
Ferret
1. n. colloquial term for an extremely poor batsman, usually selected for a team solely on bowling ability, so named because he "comes in after the rabbits". cf. rabbit. |
Field
1. n. the area of grass on which a cricket match is played, consisting of the entire area within the boundary; a cricket ground.
2. n. collectively, the fielders of a cricket side.
3. n. the fielding positions currently occupied by the fielders of a cricket side.
4. v.i. (of a side) to take the role of bowling to the batsmen of the opposition side and attempt to get them out and prevent them scoring runs in their innings.
5. v.i. (of a player) to act as a fielder.
6. v.t. to gather the ball as a fielder. |
Field Restriction Circle
1. n. an oval drawn on the field consisting of two semi-circles of radius 27.34m (30 yards) centred on the wickets, joined by parallel lines running parallel to the pitch, used to enforce field restrictions in a one-day match. |
Field Restrictions
1. n. rules governing the placement of fielders at certain times during the innings of a one-day match. |
Fielder
1. n. one of the players assigned to gather the ball after the batsman has hit it, either to catch the batsman out or to prevent him scoring runs. |
Fifth Slip
1. n. the slip fielding position four-removed from the wicket-keeper, just to the off side of fourth slip. cf. first slip, second slip, third slip, fourth slip. |
Fifty
1. n. fifty runs scored by a single batsman in one innings; synonym for half century.
2. n. fifty runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which fifty runs have been scored. There was a fifty partnership for the third wicket. |
Figures
1. n. bowling figures. |
Fine
1. adj. describing a location on the field on or near the line running through the length of the pitch through both wickets, or nearer to this line than another location being compared to, usually behind the striker. cf. straight.
2. adj. describing a direction close to this line from the striker's position. |
Fine Leg
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, behind square and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from leg glances.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the fine leg position. |
Finger Spin
1. n. a style of bowling in which the bowler spins the ball by running the first two fingers of his bowling hand down the side of the ball as he releases it; off spin for a right-handed bowler, left arm orthodox spin for a left-handed bowler. cf. wrist spin. |
Finger Spinner
1. n. a bowler who specialises in finger spin. cf. wrist spinner. |
First Class
1. adj. of a first class match. |
First Class Match
1. adj. a game of cricket of three to five days duration, with two innings per side, played under a specified set of conditions and officially recognised by an official governing body of cricket. |
First Innings
1. n. the first innings of the first side to bat in a match; the first of the possibly four innings played by either side in a two-inninngs per side match. cf. second innings, third innings, fourth innings.
2. n. the first innings played by either side in a match, considered separately.
3. n. the first innings played by both sides in a match, considered together.
4. n. the innings of the first side to bat in a one-innings per side match. |
First New Ball
1. n. the new cricket ball used at the beginning of an innings. cf. second new ball and third new ball. |
First Slip
1. n. the slip fielding position closest to the wicket-keeper. cf. second slip, third slip, fourth slip, fifth slip. |
Fish
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump with the bat and miss it. He's gone fishing after that ball. |
Five
1. n. five runs scored as penalty runs.
2. n. five runs scored off a single ball, either by a single run plus an overthrow reaching the boundary or by running five runs between the wickets. |
Five-For
1. n. the feat of a bowler taking five wickets in one innings. cf. ten-for. |
Flight
1. n. the movement of a spinning ball through the air, encompassing speed, trajectory, and drift.
2. v.t. (of a bowler) to deliver a ball with notable flight. He flighted that ball well. |
Flipper
1. n. a type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards, making it skid off the pitch and move quickly and low after bouncing, without deviating sideways. cf. top-spinner. |
Follow On
1. n. the act of (a captain) forcing the other side to bat their second innings immediately after their first innings if they fail to score at least a certain number of runs less than the other team's first innings total (200 in a Test match, 150 in a three or four day match).
2. v.i. (of a side) to bat their second innings immediately after their first innings, because of the follow on(1) being enforced by the opposing captain. |
Follow Through
1. n. the act of a bowler continuing his run for a few steps after bowling the ball, usually turning away from the pitch to avoid running on the danger area.
2. v.i. (of a bowler) to run a few steps after bowling the ball. |
Footwork
1. n. the movement of the batsman's feet as he prepares to hit or evade the ball. |
Forward
1. adj. on the fraction of the field in front of the batsman's popping crease, from the batsman's perspective.
2. adj. further in the direction in front of the batsman's popping crease than something else being compared to. |
Four
1. n. four runs scored by hitting the ball to the boundary.
2. n. the act of hitting the ball to the boundary.
3. n. four runs scored off a single ball, either by a boundary or by running four runs between the wickets. |
Fourth Innings
1. n. the second innings of the second side to bat in a match if the second side did not follow on, or the second innings of the first side to bat if the second side did follow on; the fourth and last of the possibly four innings played by either side. cf. first innings, second innings, third innings. |
Fourth Slip
1. n. the slip fielding position three-removed from the wicket-keeper, just to the off side of third slip. cf. first slip, second slip, third slip, fifth slip. |
FOW
1. n. abbreviation for fall of wicket. |
French Cut
1. n. a batsman's shot usually played accidentally when attempting to drive or block the ball, in which the ball deflects off the inside edge of the bat and travels fine down the leg side behind the batsman.
2. v.i. to play a French cut.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a French cut. |
Front Foot
1. n. the batsman's foot farthest from his wicket, his non-dominant foot. cf. back foot. |
Front Foot Defensive
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played on the front foot by holding the bat vertically in the path of the ball, without swinging the bat, so that the ball loses momentum and drops quickly to the pitch, designed to defend the batsman's wicket and pads from being hit by the ball; a block. |
Front Foot Shot
1. n. a shot played by the batsman with his weight mainly on his front foot. |
Full
1. adv. (of a ball's bounce) to bounce on the pitch relatively close to the batsman, so that the ball bounces low as it passes the batsman; synonym of up; opposite of short. The bowler pitched the ball full.
2. adj. describing a ball that bounced full(1). The ball was full. |
Full Toss
1. n. a ball that does not bounce on the pitch before reaching the batsman. |
Garden
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to inspect and tap the pitch lightly with the bat in order to smooth out small rough patches and irregularities; synonym of farm. |
Gardening
1. v.i. present participle of garden.
2. n. the act (of a batsman) of inspecting and tapping the pitch lightly with the bat in order to smooth out small rough patches and irregularities; synonym of farming. |
Gate
1. n. the gap between a batsman's bat and his pad. He was bowled through the gate. |
Give
1. v.t. (of an umpire) to rule a batsman out after an appeal by the fielding side. The umpire gave the batsman out LBW. |
Gloves
1. n. batting gloves.
2. n. wicket-keeping gloves. |
Go In
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to walk on to the field to begin to bat for the first time in an innings; synonym of come out. The new batsman went in to bat. |
Golden Duck
1. n. a batsman's score of zero runs, after getting out on the first ball faced. The batsman got out for a golden duck. cf. duck. |
Good Length
1. n. a range of distance down the pitch from the bowler to the batsman considered to be the best place to pitch the ball to produce a delivery likely to get the batsman out or restrict him from scoring runs; the length at which the ball bounces on the pitch just too far away from the batsman for the ball to be comfortably played from either the front foot or back foot. That ball was pitched on a good length.
2. adj. describing a ball pitched on a good length. That was a good length delivery. |
Googly
1. n. a type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins from off to leg to a right-handed batsman, unlike a normal leg break. |
Green
1. adj. describing a pitch on which the grass is still visibly green, or which still contains a significant amount of moisture, even if not actually green in colour. |
Green Top
1. n. a pitch on which the grass is still visibly green, indicating significant moisture still in the pitch, and which can cause unpredictable bounce for a fast bowler, making batting difficult. |
Ground
1. n. the area of grass on which a cricket match is played, consisting of the entire area within the boundary; a cricket field.
2. n. the entire sports arena in which a cricket match is played, including the spectator areas outside the boundary.
3. n. the part of the field behind a batsman's popping crease; the safe territory where he cannot be run out. The batsman made his ground so was not run out.
4. v.t. (of a batsman) to place his bat or part of his body on the ground behind his popping crease. |
Grubber
1. n. a ball that bounces unusually low off the pitch, often causing difficulties for the batsman to play at it successfully. |
Guard
1. n. the position on the popping crease where a batsman makes a mark to align his bat with the wicket behind him, so that he knows where the wicket is. cf. take guard. |
Gully
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 30 degrees behind square, a static catching position designed to catch the ball after it hits the edge of the bat and deflects a long way, or for misplaced cut shots; fielding position between the slips and point.
2. n. a fielder fielding in a gully position. |
Half Century
1. n. fifty runs scored by a single batsman in one innings; synonym for fifty.
2. n. fifty runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which fifty runs have been scored. There was a half century partnership for the third wicket. |
Half Volley
1. n. the rising part of the trajectory of a ball immediately after it bounces.
2. v.t. to hit the ball as it rises immediately after bouncing. |
Hand Grenade
1. n. colloquially, a ball, usually bowled by a spinner, that deviates off the pitch so much that it is very difficult for a batsman to play successfully, thus making the batsman extremely circumspect and afraid of getting out. |
Handled The Ball
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which a batsman deliberately touches the ball with a hand not holding the bat. |
Hang The Bat Out To Dry
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump with the bat and miss it. cf. fish. |
Hat Trick
1. n. the feat (of a bowler) of taking three wickets in three of his own successive balls in a single match, the balls may be separated by overs bowled by other bowlers or even the other side's innings. |
Heavy Roller
1. n. the heavier of the rollers available for rolling the pitch to flatten it. |
High Score
1. n. a statistic representing the most valuable batsman's innings in a given set - either over an individual's career, or a comparison between batsmen - being the highest number of runs scored in an individual batsman's innings. |
Hit The Ball Twice
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which the striker deliberately hits the ball with his bat a second time for a reason other than to protect his wicket. |
Hit Wicket
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which the striker hits his own wicket while attempting to play the ball or set off for a first run.
2. n. a wicket that fell by the method of hit wicket. |
Hook
1. n. a type of batsman\'s shot played by standing and swinging the bat in a hoizontal arc across the body, hitting the ball high in the air to the leg side, usually played to balls which bounce around head height.
2. v.i. to play a hook shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a hook. |
Howzat
1. interj. cry used by the fielding team to make an appeal to the umpire, requesting a decision on whether a batsman is out, abbreviated from the query "How is that?" |
Hundred
1. n. a hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings.
2. n. a hundred runs scored by two batsmen together in a partnership.
3. adj. describing an innings or partnership in which a hundred runs have been scored. There was a hundred partnership for the third wicket. |
ICC
1. n. the International Cricket Council. |
In
1. n. the state of a batsman who is currently batting. |
Infield
1. n. the region of the field within the rough circle bordered by the wicket-keeper, slips, gully, point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket, and square leg. cf. outfield. |
Inner
1. n. a thin inner glove worn inside batting gloves or wicket-keeping gloves. |
Innings
1. n. one side's turn to bat and score runs, completed when ten batsmen are out.
2. n. one innings of each side, considered together.
3. n. the total number of runs scored during one side's innings.
4. n. an individual's turn batting, from the time he begins batting until he gets out or the side's innings ends.
5. n. the number of runs a single player has scored during his innings.
plural innings. |
Inside Edge
1. n. the edge of a cricket bat closest to the body of the batsman, on the leg side as the bat is held vertically.
2. n. a deflection of the cricket ball off the inside edge of the striker's bat, usually travelling fine on the leg side behind square, sometimes to the wicket-keeper for a catch. cf. outside edge, top edge, bottom edge
3. v.t. to hit the ball with the inside edge of the bat. |
Inside Out
1. adv. describing the hitting of a ball pitched on or outside leg stump to the off side of the field. The batsman was forced to play inside out. |
Inswing
1. n. swing of the ball through the air inwards towards the batsman. That ball had some inswing on it.
2. adj. describing a bowler who uses inswing(1) to move the ball. He is an inswing bowler. |
Inswinger
1. n. a ball that swings through the air inwards towards the batsman.
2. n. a bowler who uses inswing. |
International Cricket Council
1. n. the official organising body of world cricket. |
Jaffa
1. n. colloquially, a ball that moves through the air or off the pitch so much that it is very difficult for a batsman to play successfully. |
Keep
1. v.i. to act as a wicket-keeper. |
Keep Wicket
1. v.i. to act as a wicket-keeper. |
King Pair
1. n. a batsman's score of zero runs, after getting out on the first ball faced, in both innings of a two-innings match; a golden duck in each innings. cf. pair. |
Knee Roll
1. n. the thicker area of a batsman's pad that protects the knee. |
Knock
1. n. colloquial term for a batsman's innings. |
Lap
1. n. sweep (1).
2. v.t. sweep (3). |
Late Cut
1. n. a cut (1) shot played well after the ball has passed the batsman's body, sending the ball finer than a normal cut. The batsman played a late cut at the ball.
2. adj. describing the type of shot used to play a late cut.
3. v.i. to play a late cut shot. The batsman late cut ferociously.
4. v.t. to hit the ball with a late cut. The batsman late cut the ball ferociously. |
Law
1. n. one of the official rules of cricket, as codified by the Marylebone Cricket Club in London. |
Laws, The
1. n. the official rules of cricket, as codified by the Marylebone Cricket Club in London. |
LBW
1. adj. abbreviation for "leg before wicket".
2. n. a wicket that fell by the method of LBW. |
Leading Edge
1. n. the edge of a cricket bat closest to the bowler's end of the pitch, as the bat is held with its face turned away from the bowler.
2. n. a deflection of the cricket ball off the leading edge of the striker's bat, sometimes lobbing gently in the air to the bowler, mid off, or mid on fielders for a catch. cf. outside edge, inside edge, top edge, bottom edge. |
Leave
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to deliberately not attempt to hit a ball. The bowler bowled outside off stump and the batsman decided to leave.
2. v.t. to leave a ball. The batsman left the last ball. |
Left Arm Orthodox
1. n. a style of bowling in which the (left-handed) bowler used finger spin to spin the ball so that when it bounces on the pitch it moves from the leg to the off to a right-handed batsman. cf. left arm unorthodox. |
Left Arm Orthodox Spinner
1. n. a (left-handed) bowler who specialises in bowling left arm orthodox spin. cf. left arm unorthodox spinner. |
Left Arm Unrthodox
1. n. a style of bowling in which the (left-handed) bowler used wrist spin to spin the ball so that when it bounces on the pitch it moves from the off to the leg to a right-handed batsman. cf. left arm orthodox. |
Left Arm Unrthodox Spinner
1. n. a (left-handed) bowler who specialises in bowling left arm orthodox spin. cf. left arm orthodox spinner. |
Leg
1. n. on or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance; synonym for on.
2. n. the leg stump. |
Leg Before Wicket
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which the bowler bowls a ball that would hits the striker's wicket, but it hits the striker instead without first hitting his bat; abbreviated LBW.
2. n. a wicket that fell by the method of LBW. |
Leg Break
1. n. the standard type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins from the leg to the off to a right-handed batsman. cf. off break. |
Leg Bye
1. n. an extra run scored by the batting side when the batsmen take runs after the ball hits the striker on the body without hitting his bat. |
Leg Cutter
1. n. a type of ball bowled by a fast bowler, using a finger action similar to a leg spin bowler, so that it moves off the pitch from the leg to the off to a right-handed batsman. cf. off cutter. |
Leg Glance
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by holding the bat vertically, and deflecting the ball off the line of the pads in the direction behind square leg.
2. v.i. to play a leg glance shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a leg glance. |
Leg Gully
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, about 30 degrees behind square, a static catching position designed to catch the ball after it hits the edge of the bat and deflects a long way, or for misplaced pull or sweep shots; fielding position between leg slip and square leg.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the leg gully position. |
Leg Side
1. n. the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance; synonym for on side. |
Leg Slip
1. n. fielding position just to the leg side of the wicket-keeper's position, a static catching position designed to catch the ball after it hits the edge of the bat and deflects only a small amount.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the leg slip position. |
Leg Spin
1. n. a style of bowling in which the (right-handed) bowler spins the ball so that when it bounces on the pitch it moves from the leg to the off to a right-handed batsman. cf. off spin. |
Leg Spinner
1. n. a (right-handed) bowler who specialises in bowling leg spin. cf. off spinner. |
Leg Stump
1. n. the stump on the leg side of the striker's wicket. |
Leg Theory
1. n. archaic name for a bowling tactic involving aiming at the batsman's leg stump. cf. off theory, fast leg theory. |
Leggie
1. n. a leg spin bowler.
2. n. a leg break. |
Length
1. n. the distance down the pitch that the ball bounces on its way to the batsman. The length of that ball was very short. The bowler bowled a good length to the batsman. cf. line. |
Light Roller
1. n. the lighter of the rollers available for rolling the pitch to flatten it. |
Limited Overs Cricket
1. n. alternative term for one-day cricket. |
Line
1. n. the path of the ball towards the batsman, in the horizontal dimension running from the off to the leg side. The line of that ball was on off stump. The bowler bowled a good line to the batsman. cf. length. |
Line And Length
1. n. the line and the length of the ball considered as a whole. |
List-A One-Day Match
1. adj. a one-day match played between sides recognised by an official governing body of cricket. |
Live
1. adj. the state (of the ball) in which play is occurring, such that batsmen may score runs and get out. |
Live Ball
1. n. the ball when it is live. |
Lofted Drive
1. n. a drive played with the bat angled upwards rather than downwards when it hits the ball, sending the ball flying through the air rather than along the ground. |
Long
1. adj. describing a location on the field or a fielding position close to the boundary, or closer to the boundary than a position being compared to. cf. short. |
Long Hop
1. n. a ball that bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rises in the air relatively slowly, allowing the batsman to hit it easily. |
Long Off
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 60-75 degrees forward of square and near the boundary, a position designed to prevent runs from off drives or catch long, lofted off drives. |
Long On
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, about 60-75 degrees forward of square, a position designed to prevent runs from on drives or catch long, lofted on drives. |
Lunch
1. n. the 40-minute break between the first and second sessions of play during a first-class cricket match. |
Maiden
1. n. an over in which no runs are scored.
2. adj. describing an over in which no runs are scored. |
Maker's Name
1. n. colloqiaully, the front blade of a cricket bat, so called because it usually has a large logo indicating the manufacturer, usually referred to when the batsman has played a good straight shot. The batsman showed the maker's name to that ball. |
Man Of The Match
1. n. a player, from either side, chosen by an appointed official after a match as making the most outstanding achievements during the match, and usually awarded a small prize.
2. adj. describing the award given to a man of the match.
3. adj. describing a performance worthy of winning a man of the match award. |
Manhattan
1. n. a graphic representing the number of runs scored per over of an innings in a bar graph, so named because it frequently resembles a city skyline. |
Mankad
1. n. a run out of the non-striker performed by the bowler during his run up and before bowling the ball, if the non-striker happens to leave his crease too early when trying to back up.
2. v.t. to run out the non-striker in this method. |
Match
1. n. a game of cricket. |
Match Referee
1. n. the official who administrates a professional cricket match, deciding on penalties for unfair play and misconduct by the players. |
Medium Pace
1. adj. describing a bowler who bowls at a moderate speed, faster than a spin bowler, but not as fast as a pace bowler. He is a medium pace bowler.
2. adj. describing the style of bowling in which swing, seam, and/or cut is used to attempt to take wickets, but the ball is not bowled more slowly than the fastest pace bowlers. He is proficient at medium pace bowling. |
Medium Pacer
1. n. a medium pace bowler. |
Mid Off
1. n. fielding position on the off side, about 60-75 degrees forward of square, a position designed to prevent runs from off drives, and defensive strokes on the off side; fielding position between cover and the bowler's wicket.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the mid off position. |
Mid On
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, about 60-75 degrees forward of square, a position designed to prevent runs from on drives, and defensive strokes on the on side; fielding position between midwicket and the bowler's wicket.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the mid on position. |
Middle
1. n. middle stump. |
Middle Order
1. n. the batsmen who normally bat in roughly positions 5-7 in the batting order.
2. adj. describing a batsman who normally bats in the middle order. |
Middle Stump
1. n. the stump in the middle of the striker's wicket. |
Midwicket
1. n. fielding position on the leg side, about 30-45 degrees forward of square, a position designed to either catch the ball from a misplaced pull shot, or to prevent runs from on drives, and defensive strokes on the on side; fielding position between square leg and mid on.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the midwicket position. |
Minefield
1. n. a pitch which has dried out, crumbled, and deteriorated badly, usually after a few days of play, and which is conducive to very irregular and unpredictable spin(2), making it extremely difficult to bat against spin bowling. cf. turner. |
Nelson
1. n. a score of 111 runs, either by a single batsman or the total for the side. |
Net
1. n. a practice area for batting and bowling, consisting of a pitch closely surrounded by netting to restrict the ball from travelling too far.
2. n. a session of practice in a net. The batsman need to have a net to hone his skills. |
New Ball
1. n. a new cricket ball, never previously used in a cricket match.
2. n. a new cricket ball taken by the captain of the fielding side at a specific time during an innings to replace the old ball currently being used.
3. adj. describing a bowler who generally bowls with the new ball in an innings. He is their new ball bowler.
4. adj. describing a batsman in the context of facing a new ball. He is a good new ball batsman. |
Nick
1. n. a small deflection of the cricket ball off the edge of the striker's bat, usually not deviating much from the ball's trajectory, and often to the wicket-keeper for a catch; a snick.
2. v.t. to hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a very fine deflection. The batsman nicked the ball to the keeper. |
Nightwatchman
1. n. a batsman sent in to bat above his normal batting position at the fall of a wicket a short time before the end of a day's play, as a tactic to protect better batsmen from having to begin their innings just before the end of play and then have to begin again the next day. |
No Ball
1. n. a ball delivered by the bowler in violation of any of several rule regarding the positions of his feet with respect to the creases, the action of his arm, or the trajectory of the ball.
2. n. an extra run credited to the batting side when a bowler bowls a no ball(1).
3. n. the arm signal of an umpire used to signal a no ball, with one arm outstretched horizontally. 4. v.i. (of a bowler) to bowl a no ball. 5. v.t. (of an umpire) to call and signal a bowler for bowling a no ball. |
No Result
1. n. the result of a one-day match in which one or both sides did not complete their innings or face a predetermined minimum number of overs, because of weather or other interruptions. cf. draw. |
Non-Striker
1. n. the batsman whose position is currently at the end of the pitch where the bowler will deliver the ball to the other batsman; he may not hit the ball. |
Not Out
1. adj. the state (of a batsman) of not having been dismissed by the fielding side in the innings in question. |
Number
1. n. used in combination with a number to indicate a batsman's position in the batting order. He is a number three batsman. |
Number Eleven
1. n. the eleventh position in the batting order.
2. n. the worst batsman in a cricket side, so called because he bats in the number eleven position.
3. n. a very poor batsman. |
Nut
1. n. colloquial term for cricket ball. |
Obstructing The Field
1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which a batsman deliberately obstructs the field to prevent them taking a catch, making a run out, or prevent them from gathering the ball. |
ODI
1. n. abbreviation for one-day international. |
Off
1. adj. in or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance.
2. n. the off stump. |
Off Break
1. n. the standard type of ball bowled by an off spin bowler, which spins from the off to the leg to a right-handed batsman. cf. leg break. |
Off Cutter
1. n. a type of ball bowled by a fast bowler, using a finger action similar to an off spin bowler, so that it moves off the pitch from the off to the leg to a right-handed batsman. cf. leg cutter. |
Off Drive
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat down in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, hitting the ball along the ground, in the direction of mid off. cf. square drive, cover drive, on drive
2. v.i. to play an off drive shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with an off drive. |
Off Side
1. n. the half of the field away from the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance. |
Off Spin
1. n. a style of bowling in which the (right-handed) bowler spins the ball so that when it bounces on the pitch it moves from the off to the leg to a right-handed batsman. cf. leg spin. |
Off Spinner
1. n. a (right-handed) bowler who specialises in bowling off spin. cf. leg spinner. |
Off Stump
1. n. the stump on the off side of the striker's wicket. |
Off Theory
1. n. archaic name for a bowling tactic involving aiming at or outside the batsman's off stump. cf. leg theory. |
Offer The Light
1. v. (of the umpires) to ask the batsmen if they wish to continue playing in poor light conditions. |
Offie
1. n. an off spin bowler.
2. n. an off break. |
Old Ball
1. n. a cricket ball after it has been used in a cricket match.
2. n. a cricket ball after it has been used for about 30-40 overs. |
On
1. adj. in or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance; synonym for leg. |
On Drive
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat down in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, hitting the ball along the ground, in the direction of mid on. cf. square drive, cover drive, off drive
2. v.i. to play an on drive shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with an on drive. |
On Side
1. n. the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs as he stands in the batting stance; synonym for leg side. |
On Strike
1. n. the state of a batsman of being the striker. |
One
1. n. one run scored off a single ball, by running between the wickets; synonym of single. |
One Short
1. n. when one of the batsman fails to ground himself or his bat behind the popping crease before turning for an additional run.
2. n. the signal from the umpire indicating one short. |
One-Day Cricket
1. adj. a form of cricket in which each side bats only one innings, played on a single day; also called limited overs cricket. |
One-Day International
1. adj. a game of cricket of one innings per side, played on a single day, between sides representing one of the official Test nations, or other national sides in recognised tournaments such as the World Cup. |
One-Day Match
1. adj. a game of cricket of one innings per side, played on a single day. |
Open
1. v.i. to begin a side's innings as one of the initial two batsmen batting.
2. v.t. to open(1) a side's innings.
3. v. to open the attack. |
Open The Attack
1. v. to bowl one of the first two overs of an innings. |
Open The Face
1. v. to turn the face of the bat outwards away from the batsman's body, usually in order to hit the ball to the off side. |
Opener
1. n. a batsman who specialises in batting at position 1 or 2 in the batting order; a batsman who normally opens an innings. |
Opening
1. adj. describing the period of play at the beginning of an innings, often meaning up to the fall of the first wicket. The opening partnership was worth 100 runs.
2. adj. describing a batsman who opens the innings.
3. adj. describing a bowler who bowls one of the first two overs in an innings. He's a dangerous opening bowler. |
Order
1. n. the sequence in which a side's batsmen go in to bat; the batting order. |
Orthodox Spin
1. n. a synonym for finger spin. |
Out
1. adj. the state of a batsman having his innings ended by the fielding team and having to leave the field for the next batsman to bat. |
Outfield
1. n. the region of the field outside the rough circle bordered by the wicket-keeper, slips, gully, point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket, and square leg. cf. infield. |
Outside Edge
1. n. the edge of a cricket bat farthest from the body of the batsman, on the off side as the bat is held vertically.
2. n. a deflection of the cricket ball off the outside edge of the striker's bat, usually travelling fine behind square on the off side, and often to the wicket-keeper or slips fielders for a catch. cf. inside edge, top edge, bottom edge
3. v.t. to hit the ball with the outside edge of the bat. |
Outswing
1. n. swing of the ball through the air outwards away from the batsman. That ball had some outswing on it.
2. adj. describing a bowler who uses outswing(1) to move the ball. He is an outswing bowler. |
Outswinger
1. n. a ball that swings through the air outwards away from the batsman.
2. n. a bowler who uses outswing. |
Over
1. n. a series of six balls bowled by a single bowler in sequence. |
Over The Wicket
1. adv. describing the method of bowling in which a bowler delivers the ball from the side of the wicket that puts his dominant hand closer to the wicket; opposite of around the wicket. He decided to bowl over the wicket to the batsman. |
Overpitch
1. v.i. (of a bowler) to bowl a ball so that it bounces closer to the batsman than a good length, allowing the batsman to hit it easily.
2. v.t. to overpitch the ball. |
Overthrow
1. n. when a fielder throws the ball back to the pitch area but it is not gathered there and continues into the outfield on the other side of the pitch.
2. n. a run scored by the batsmen because of an overthrow by the fielding side. |
Pace
1. n. a measure of the hardnes and bounciness of the pitch, such that bouncy pitches have a lot of pace since balls bouncing off them tend to maintain their speed, while less bouncy pitches have less pace as they tend to deaden and slow the ball somewhat.
2. n. a measure of the speed of a ball bowled by the bowler.
3. adj. describing a bowler who bowls at a relatively fast speed. He is a pace bowler.
4. adj. describing the style of bowling in which the ball is bowled fast, using pace(2), swing, seam, and/or cut to attempt to take wickets. He is proficient at pace bowling. |
Pad
1. n. a batsman's leg pad, designed to protect the leg from being hit by the ball.
2. v.t. to play the ball with the leg pad rather than the bat, by deliberately pushing the leg in the path of the ball while keeping the bat away from the ball. |
Pair
1. n. a batsman's score of zero runs, after getting out, in both innings of a two-innings match; a duck in each innings. cf. king pair. |
Par Score
1. n. the total number of runs that the side batting second in a one-day match would need to have scored by a particular over, with a particular number of wickets down, in order to win under the Duckworth/Lewis Method if the game were to be washed out at that point. |
Part-Time Bowler
1. n. a player in a side primarily for batting (or wicket-keeping) and who has moderate skill as a bowler, who is occasionally called on to bowl a few overs, often when none of the specialist bowlers are performing well. |
Part-Timer
1. n. a part-time bowler. |
Partnership
1. n. the period of batting in which two specific batsmen are batting, from the time the previous batsman was out until one of the specific two is out.
2. n. the number of runs scored during a partnership(1). |
Pavilion
1. n. traditional term for the building in which players change clothes, wait to bat, and eat meals, often used as the destination for batsmen who have just got out. The bowler sent that batsman back to the pavilion! |
Pick
1. v.t. (of a batsman) to perceive the particular type of ball being bowled by a bowler who changes his delivery action, by noting the position of the hand and arm as the bowler releases the ball. The batsman didn't pick that googly, and it almost bowled him. |
Pie
1. n. colloquial term for a poor delivery, which can be easily hit by the batsman for runs. |
Pie Chucker
1. n. colloquial term for a bowler who bowls many poor deliveries. cf. pie. |
Pinch Hitter
1. n. a batsman known for batting aggressively, who comes in to bat above his normal batting position expressly to score runs quickly, possibly at the expense of his own wicket. The term comes from baseball, but has been adopted for a different meaning. |
Pitch
1. n. the prepared rectangle of grass in the centre of a cricket field, which has a wicket at each end and along which the bowler bowls the ball to the batsman.
2. n. the bounce of a ball (usually on the pitch(1)).
3. v.i. (of a ball) to bounce (usually on the pitch(1)). The ball pitched short.
4. v.t. (of a bowler) to bounce the ball on the pitch(1). The bowler pitched the ball short. |
Play In
1. v. (of a batsman) to settle into his innings and get comfortable with the bowling and the qualities of the bounce off the pitch, when beginning to bat on a given day. The batsman refrained from aggressive batting until he'd played himself in. |
Play On
1. v. (of a batsman) to accidentally hit the ball (usually off the edge of the bat) on to one's own wicket, resulting in being out bowled. |
Plumb
1. adj. colloquial term describing an LBW or potential LBW in which the batsman is clearly hit on the pads directly in front of his wicket, and should obviously be given out. The fielders are appealing for LBW, and the batsman looks plumb! |
Point
1. n. fielding position on the off side, square of the striker's wicket, a position designed to either catch the ball from a misplaced cut shot, or to prevent runs from cut shots, square drives, and defensive strokes square on the off side; fielding position between gully and cover.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the point position. |
Popping Crease
1. n. the white line marked on the pitch in front of each wicket, delineating the border between safe and unsafe territory for the batsmen when they take runs, and also the region where a bowler's front foot must land in order to bowl a legal delivery; also referred to simply as the crease. |
Protected Area
1. n. the central rectangle of the pitch, on which bowlers may not run in their follow-through as it may damage the pitch and make batting difficult; synonym for danger area. |
Pull
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by standing and swinging the bat in a horizontal arc across the body, hitting the ball to the leg side, usually played to balls which bounce around waist height.
2. v.i. to play a pull shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a pull. |
Puller
1. n. a batsman who is skilled at or frequently plays pull shots.
2. n. any batsman in the context of playing a pull shot. |
Put Up The Shutters
1. v. (of a side) to begin to bat defensively in the last innings of the match, in order to not lose wickets and force a draw, rather than to attempt to chase the victory target. |
Pyjama Game
1. n. pejorative term used to describe one-day cricket, as compared to first class cricket, referring to the coloured uniforms worn by the players. |
Pyjamas
1. n. pejorative term for the coloured uniforms worn by players in one-day cricket. |
Quick
1. n. a fast bowler. |
Quidditch
1. n. a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling, which bears no resemblance to cricket whatsoever. |
Rabbit
1. n. colloquial term for a very poor batsman, usually selected for a team solely on bowling ability. cf. ferret. |
Result
1. n. an expression of the final outcome of a match in the form "<side name> won by <margin>" or "Match drawn" or "Match tied".
2. n. a match in which one side wins, as opposed to a drawn or tied match. The sides drew the first match in the series, but got a result in the second. |
Retire
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to voluntarily stop batting and allow the next batsman in the batting order to bat. |
Retire Hurt
1. v.i. (of a batsman) to stop batting because of an injury sustained while batting and allow the next batsman in the batting order to bat. |
Retired Hurt
1. n. the state of a batsman who has had to leave the field because of an injury sustained while batting, the batsman is not out and may return to continue his innings later if recovered. |
Return
1. v.t. (of a fielder) to throw the ball from somewhere in the field back to the wicket-keeper or another fielder stationed near one of the wickets.
2. n. a throw from a fielder to the wicket-keeper or another fielder stationed near one of the wickets. |
Return Crease
1. n. one of the white lines marked on the pitch on either side of each wicket, delineating the region where a bowler's back foot must land in order to bowl a legal delivery. |
Reverse Sweep
1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by kneeling, often putting the back leg's knee on the pitch, turning the bat over, and swinging the it in a horizontal arc across the body from the leg side to the off side, hitting the ball to the off side, usually played to balls from a slow bowler that pitch near the batsman. cf. sweep.
2. v.i. to play a reverse sweep shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a reverse sweep. |
Reverse Swing
1. n. sideways movement of the ball through the air in its trajectory towards the batsman, caused by differential air flow over the surfaces of the ball, that occurs in the opposite direction to the swing on a new ball, and only occurs with an old ball. cf. swing. The bowler is getting some reverse swing with the old ball.
2. v.t. to get the ball to move sideways through the air using reverse swing(1). The bowler reverse swung the ball a long way.
3. v.i. (of the ball) to move sideways through the air because of reverse swing(1). The ball reverse swung a long way.
4. adj. describing a bowler who uses reverse swing(1) to move the ball. He is a reverse swing bowler. |
Ring Field
1. n. a field arrangement consisting of the full ring of infielders square and in front of the wicket: point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket, square leg. |
Rock
1. n. colloquial term for cricket ball. |
Roll
1. v.t. to go over the pitch with a heavy rolling device designed to flatten the surface. |
Roller
1. n. a heavy rolling device designed to flatten the surface of the pitch. |
Rope
1. n. a thick rope used to mark the boundary of the field. The ball ran through the outfield and hit the rope. |
Rough
1. n. a region of the pitch which has been scuffed and roughened by the action of bowlers' feet as they follow through their runs after bowling the ball, frequently used as a target by spin bowlers as it gives the ball more unpredictable spin and bounce. |
Run
1. n. the unit of scoring.
2. n. the act of the batsmen scoring a run, by running between the wickets.
3. v.i. to run between the wickets in an attempt to score a run. |
Run Chase
1. n. the situation in a match in which the side batting last needs to score a certain number of runs to win, especially if the time or overs available makes the target difficult to reach.
2. n. the effort made by the side batting last to score the runs required to win. |
Run Out
1. n. when a batsman is out because of being outside his popping crease attempting to score runs when a fielder breaks his wicket with the ball.
2. adj. being out because of a run out.
3. v.t. to get a batsman out run out. To run out the batsman. or To run the batsman out. |
Run Rate
1. n. a statistic equal to the number of runs scored by a side divided by the number of overs taken to score them. |
Run Up
1. v.i. (of a bowler) to run or walk up to the bowling crease at the bowler's end as part of the process of bowling a ball.
2. n. the action of a bowler running up to bowl.
3. n. the area of the field behid the pitch used by a bowler for his run up. |
Runner
1. n. a player who wears batting gear and carries a bat, who goes into the field to run for a batsman who is batting but is too injured to run. |
Sandshoe Crusher
1. n. a yorker bowled directly at the batsman's feet, often with inswing.
2. n. a ball that actually hits the batsman on a foot. |
Score
1. n. a presentation of how many runs a side has scored and how many wickets it has lost in an innings, expressed in text as either <runs>/<wickets> (in most of the world) or <wickets>/<runs> (in Australia) and spoken as "<runs> for <wickets>" (in most of the world) or "<wickets> for <runs>" (in Australia). The score is 200/4. (spoken "The score is two hundred for four.")
2. n. the numbe |
