Bails: Two bails or small cylinders are balanced at the top of three
vertical dowels or stumps, the entire unit is called the wicket.
No
Ball: Sounds like an oxymoron? The umpire is signalling a ball (pitch)
thrown from outside the boundaries of the correct bowling position (the popping
crease). He siganls it by outstretching his arm sideways.
Batsman: The batsman is the player wielding the long, flat,
laminated willow bat.
Bowler: The bowler is the player
throwing the red, leather ball at the batsman.
Bowling A Maiden
Over: Happens to cricketers all the time, lucky chaps. Does not refer to
having a wonderful effect on your female companion, but rather to bowling six
balls without conceding a run.
Box: A protector worn by
batsmen to protect the unmentionables.
Chinaman: Not really
oriental. This is a leg break delivered by a left handed bowler.
Cow
Corner: This is the cricketing term for the fielder at 'pull'. He's there
for catches. In the early days of cricket it is reported that the fielder
constantly looked down (to see what he was treading in) as often as he looked up
to see the ball in mid air.
Fine Leg: A fine leg, whether
short or long, is a field position.
Full Toss: Describes a
ball which does not hit the pitch before it reaches the batsman.
Hat
Trick: Refers to the bowler having taken three wickets (dismissed three
batsmen) with successive balls. Demonstrates uncommon skill and many years ago
resulted in the bowler being awarded a hat.
How's That or Howzat, or
How is He?: Not any inquiry by the bowler and/or fielder regarding the
batsman's health, but a question asked of the umpire (usually aggressively) as
to whether or not the batsman is out.
It Went Straight Through
Him: Not really - the speed and/or angle of the ball off the pitch
enabled the ball to go between the bat and the batsman's ribs.
Knock
Up: Has other connotations but in cricket it means warming up in a
practice (better known as nets) before the game.
Leg
break: Not an injury but merely a ball spun so that, upon hitting the
pitch, moves from leg position to off to a right handed batsman by a right
handed bowler.
Leg Slip: Not sexy lingerie, but a fielding
position.
Long Hop: No athletics required, but refers to a
ball pitched (i.e. hitting the pitch) so short that the batsman has ample time
to judge where to hit the ball.
Over: The game hasn't ended.
It is the umpire's call signalling that six balls have been bowled. At the end
of the over the bowler switches ends and bowls to the batsman at the other end
of the pitch.
Overnight Batsman: Although cricket games can be
long, the batsman does not have to bat until morning. If a wicket falls late in
the day, near the close of play, the skipper sends in a player, capable of
preventing the fall of another wicket. Thus the better batsmen are rested for
next day's play.
Pitch: The pitch is the 22 yard strip on the
centre of the field upon which the stumps are placed at either end.
Quickie: In no way related to common usage, but a term used to
describe a very fast bowler.
Right Arm Round: Refers to a
bowler who bowls from the right side of the wicket rather than the customary
left side.
Round the Wicket: "He bowls round the wicket right
arm round" Term refers to a bowler who doesn't bowl from the left side of the
wicket.
Silly, Short, Long or Deep: "He's at silly mid off."
Reflects the proximity to the pitch at the batsman's end. Of course, if the
fielder is too silly (perilously close to the batsman) - he is silly. Cricket
fielders do not protect their hands with gloves, any hard hit ball is likely to
result in injury to hands or body.
Slip: "He's playing in the
slip". Slips are field positions directly behind the wickets adjacent to the
stumper, can be occupied by up to five players.
Spin
Bowler: Does not rotate with the possibility of screwing himself into the
ground, but imparts spin to the ball using fingers and/or wrist to produce
description of the ball after it hits the pitch, hopefully before it reaches the
batsman.
Spinner: "He throws a spinner." The slow ball thrown
by a bowler.
Square Cut: Is produced when a long hop is hit by
the batsman to (or past) the point position. It is not a cut against the grain.
Sticky Wicket: Field conditions created by close cropped,
recently wet grass are called a sticky wicket. This field condition adds a
deadly spin to the bowled ball.
Tickle: Not what you may think
(although fielders have been described as "standing round the corner, legs
apart, waiting for a tickle"). The fielder is anticipating a very fine touch of
ball on bat "tickling" it to him for a catch. Tickle: "He tickled the ball and
was out." If the bowled ball slightly tips the bat the batsman is called out.
Wicket: Has various meanings: 1. Three vertical stumps or
poles with two bails balanced on top. The wicket is protected by the batsman,
while the bowler attempts to knocks the bails off. 2. The immediate playing area
including the two batting creases and the mat between them.
Wide
Ball: If a ball is delivered beyond the batsman's reach wide for his
normal stance, the umpire calls "wide", a run is added to the batting side's
score and an extra ball is bowled.
All rounder: A player who
is good at both batting and bowling.
Around the wicket: When a
bowler bowls with the wicket on the other side of the body to the bowling arm.
Batting crease: Popping crease.
Bouncer: Another name for a fast short-pitched ball.
Boundary: Line, fence, rope, or clearly distinguished marking
of the where the field of play ceases. There are no laws that govern the size of
a cricket filed - however depending on the competition, different measurements
are used. See law 19.
'Carry the bat': If any of the openners
stays while all the wickets are taken it's said that that he 'carried the bat'.
Century: When a batsman scores 100 runs in one innings.
Debut: When one plays their first cricket match it is refered
to as their 'Debut'.
Declare: When the captain of the batting
announces his innings closed before all batsmen being given out.
Drinks: A short pause for drinks.
Duck: When
a batsman who scored no runs is dismissed.
Duckworth-Lewis: A
complex system for dealing with rain interrupted games.
Extras: Byes, leg-byes, wides, and no balls.
Floater/Wrong 'Un/Doosra: A leg spin by an off spinner with
the similar action as of off break (Saqlain's speciality). Basically there is no
particular name in cricket terms for such a ball.
Full
toss: After being delivered from the bowler's hand, the ball reaches the
batsman without striking the pitch.
Golden duck: Out for a
Duck (see above) on the very first ball of the innings.
Guard: A batsman asking for guard is wanting to know spots on
the pitch that line up with different stumps.
Googly: An off
spin by a leg spinner with the similar action as of leg break.
Hat
trick: When a bowler takes three wickets in three consecutive balls.
Innings: The period in which one side bats. A game of cricket
requires at least on innings from each team. See law 12.
LB: Common abbreviation for leg bye. When the ball touches any
cricketing gear of the batsman (other than his bat) and he still manages to get
runs.
Bye: When the wicket-keeper fails to collect the ball
cleanly and the opposition picks runs off the misdemeanour.
LBW: Common abbreviation for leg before wicket - a form of
dismissal.
Nelson: 111 runs
Over rate: The
rate of completed overs per hour.
Over the wicket: When a
bowler bowls with the wicket on the side of the body to the bowling arm.
Pair: Getting out for a nought (that is on zero) in both
innings.
Pitch: Some people get confused with pitches and
wickets. The pitch is the area between the bowling creases.
Run
rate: The average numbers of runs scored on an over.
Scorers: Those who take the score - outs, runs, overs, balls
etc. Often the scorers are ignored and unmentioned but they are just as
important as umpires - maybe even more important.
Swing: Change of path by the ball in air. Mostly because of
wetness of ball or when the ball gets old.
Swinging
yorker: The most dangerous ball ever. The ball changes its path in air
and pitches near the feet of the batsman.
Yorker: The ball
pitches near the feet of the batsman or between his feet and the wicket.
