Sports - Cricket

Cricket jargon is full of wonderfully expressive phrases. Cricket is not everyone’s cup of tea and many people are actually surprised that such a simple and uninteresting sport can actually have cricket jargon at all.

Perhaps cricket jargon was invented to liven up the game by some would be activists. Whatever the purpose much of the cricket jargon we hear today has been about for years now and not many new cricket jargon words are invented.

Cricket jargon has a unique history all of its own and has a special place in my own heart. The people who play and enjoy cricket really are a very special bunch. Most wives making the cucumber sandwiches for the local village cricket match also understand much of the cricket jargon with surprising ease.

So, when you are at Lords or the local village cricket green you to can now shout out the correct phrases for the cricket jargon and be part of the ‘nice’ set. Don’t let your lack of cricket jargon knowledge spoil your game.

Cricket Jargon

A

Appeal

When the fielding side think they have taken the wicket they appeal to the umpire (howzat?) The umpire will not always agree, but no appeal means no wicket.

Average

Batting average is calculated by dividing the number of runs a batsman has scored by the number of times he has been out. A bowler's average sees the number of runs scored against a bowler divided by the number of wickets taken.

B

Bails

Two wooden bails sit across the top of the three stumps at each end of the pitch. At least one bail has to be knocked off for the wicket to be deemed broken.

Bat-and-pad

When the ball hits both the bat and pad. A batsman can be caught out even if the ball hits the pad first and then hits the bat.

Boundary

The perimeter of the pitch. A ball struck to the boundary along the ground is worth four runs or if it carries all the way over the boundary without bouncing then a six is scored.

C

D

Declaration

If a team is feel they have scored enough runs they bring their own innings to an early end by making a declaration.

Duck

The dreaded score in cricket. A batsman who fails to score a run is said to have got a duck.

E

F

Follow on

If a team is 200 runs or more behind after the first innings of a Test then they can be asked to follow-on. This means the team going straight back into bat. The follow-on target is reduced to 150 in a four day game and 100 in a three day match.

Full toss

A delivery that reaches a batsman without bouncing.

G

Golden duck

Being out first ball without scoring.

Good length delivery

Basically it involves pitching the ball just out of the maximum reach forward of a batsman, leaving him unsure whether to play the ball off the front or the back foot.

H

Half century

A score of 50 or more by an individual batsman.

Hat trick

A bowler takes a hat-trick if he removes three batsmen in three successive deliveries. The three deliveries may run in sequence or could be the last two balls of a bowler's over and then the first ball of his next over.

Howzat

This is the question asked by a fielding team to the umpire when they think that they may have got a member of the batting team out

I

J

K

L

LBW

Stands for leg before wicket. The umpire will consider giving a batsman out lbw if he believes that the ball would have hit the stumps if it had not been obstructed by the batter's pads. (See Ways to get out)

Long hop

A short delivery that is easy for a batsman to hit away.

M

Maiden Over

An over from which no runs are scored.

Middle Order

Often the major run scorers in the team, batting from positions three to six or seven, depending on the number of specialist batsmen in the team.

N

Nightwatchman

A lower order batsman sent in at the end of a day to see out the remaining time, rather than risk losing a more important batsman.

O

Openers

The two batsmen who start the innings for a team.

Over pitched

A delivery that is easy for a batsman to hit within a comfortable stride forward from the popping crease.

P

Pads

Worn to protect the legs of the batsman from being hit by the ball.

Pair

A batsman who gets a duck in both innings of a two innings match is said to have got a pair.

Partnership

The number of runs scored between two batsmen during the time they are at the wicket together.

Pitch

The closely mown area in the centre of the field where the major action takes place.

Q

R

Run(s)

Each time the batsmen change ends a run is scored and added to the total.

Run out

A player can be run out if the wicket at one end of the pitch is broken while a batsman is out of his ground.

Run rate

This is the rate at which a team score their runs. It is calculated by the total number of runs divided by the number of overs.

S

Stump

The wickets at each end of the pitch are made up of three wooden stumps.

Stumped

A batsman can be stumped if in attempting a shot he leaves the popping crease and the wicketkeeper is able to gather the ball and remove the bails before the batsman regains his ground.

T

Tailender

The last few batsmen in a team who are not noted for their run scoring ability are known as tailenders.

Test

Test matches are played over two innings matches played over five days.

Ton

Another way of saying that an individual batsman has scored a century.

U

V

W

Wicket maiden

A maiden over that has also seen a bowler take a wicket.

X

Y

Yorker

A delivery that pitches right at the feet or bat of the batsman.

Z

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