| The sport of cricket uses terms and expressions | | | | Bowlers |
| that are as strange and eccentric as the game. Such | | | | Fast bowlers: Bowlers who bowl 90 miles per hour on |
| terms apply both to batting and bowling and are | | | | average |
| sufficient to thoroughly confuse the uninitiated. This | | | | Fast medium: Bowlers who average between 85 and |
| article merely provides a sample of common batting | | | | 90 miles per hour |
| and bowling terms used in the course of a cricket | | | | Medium pace/ seam bowlers: Those who bowl with a |
| matches all over the world. | | | | similar action to fast men, are considerably slower |
| Batting shots | | | | and rely on hitting the seam or line and length to |
| In the course of a match, you might hear that a | | | | trouble batsmen. |
| batsman played a lovely "cover drive" or produced a | | | | Fast bowlers may use the following deliveries and |
| delightful "on-drive" off the back foot. Those are just | | | | techniques: Yorker, bouncer, off-cutter, leg-cutter, |
| a fraction of the terms used to describe various | | | | reverse swing, in-swing and out-swing. |
| batting strokes. The style of the shot and the | | | | Spinners were a funky soul-vocal group from the 70s. |
| direction it is played determines the expression used. | | | | For cricket's purpose, they are slow bowlers who use |
| In addition to drives, there are cuts, pulls/ hooks, | | | | turn, flight and bounce to dismiss batsmen. |
| reverse-sweeps, switch hits and flicks. When you | | | | Leg break bowlers: Spinners who turn the ball from |
| hear that a batsman play an "agricultural shot", that | | | | leg stump to the off stump- also known as "leggies" |
| means that he took a skill-less swipe, cut or swing at | | | | and wrist spinners. |
| the ball- usually with a disastrous or embarrassing | | | | Off-break bowlers: Spinners who turn the ball from |
| result. | | | | off stump to leg stump- also known as "offies" or |
| Miscellaneous batting terms | | | | finger spinners. |
| Batting order: You can bat in the top order (positions | | | | Slow left-arm orthodox/unorthodox: Left arm |
| 1-3), middle order (4-7) or lower order (8-11) | | | | spinners who are classified according to whether they |
| Back foot/front foot: A batsman can play a shot off | | | | turn the ball conventionally. |
| the front or back foot based on where he transfers | | | | The deliveries that spinners may use (depending on |
| his weight at the point of playing a stroke. | | | | their bowling style) include: doosra, flipper, googly and |
| Declare an innings: When a batting side wants to end | | | | the Chinaman. |
| an innings before being "bowled out", the captain can | | | | Miscellaneous bowling terms |
| call the batsmen in to end the innings. | | | | Maiden over: An over with no runs scored (excluding |
| Bowled out: A batting team is bowled out when it | | | | byes and leg byes) |
| loses all available wickets (also known as a completed | | | | Ball tampering: An illegal attempt to change the |
| innings). | | | | condition of the ball |
| Duck/golden duck/ pair/ king pair: A "duck" occurs | | | | Chucking or throwing: An illegal bowling action that |
| when a batsman is dismissed for zero (0). A golden | | | | involves a prohibited extension of the bowling arm |
| duck refers to a duck on the first ball faced. A pair is | | | | past the point of delivery. |
| two ducks for the same batsman in a match (First | | | | Over: Six legal deliveries constitute an over in all |
| class or Test match), while a King Pair is two golden | | | | forms of cricket |
| ducks for the same batsman in one match. | | | | Sledging: An attempt by the fielding side to unsettle |
| "Not out": A batsman is "not out" when he is not yet | | | | the batsman using verbal barbs. |
| dismissed (example, 56 not out) or remains unbeaten | | | | These terms come in handy for the avid cricket |
| at the end of a completed innings. This term is one | | | | spectator or dedicated couch potato in understanding |
| batsmen love to hear from umpires after an appeal | | | | cricket commentary and pub discussions after the |
| by the fielding side as well. | | | | game. |