Cricket Game Terms Part 2

Cricket Terms: D - F

• Dead Ball: when there are no runs to be scored or wickets taken.
• Declaration: occurs when an inning ends prior to all batting players counted as out.
• Dibbly Dobbly: a bowler of medium pace without variations.
• Dolly: refers to a very easy catch for a fielder.
• Drifter/Floater: bowled delivery curving away from a right-hander and does not turn.
• Duck: cricket game score of 0.
• Duckworth Lewis: refers to the method of calculating targets during rainy matches.
• Extras Runs: not scored by batsmen.
• Featherbed: a very good wicket to bat on, offering little help to the bowlers.
• Free Hit: a penalty delivery in which the batsman can only be run out.
• Full Toss: ball that does not bounce before reaching the designated batsmen.
  

• Gardening: jargon for repair of grooves in the pitch caused by the ball or studs using the bat.
• Good Length: refers to the bowler’s aim to force the batsman to decide between play forwards or back.
• Googly:  jargon for difference that turns into the right-hander and away from the left-hander.
• Grubber: cricket game ball that barely bounces.
• Half Volley: ideal length for driving, but falls short of a full toss.
• Handled the Ball: a deliberate hand-touch by a batsman that could result in an out.
• Hat Trick: three wickets taken by a bowler in three consecutive deliveries.
• Heavy Ball: unexpected strong motion that hits the bat.
• Hit the Ball Twice: a deliberate double strike by a batsman to gain runs that could result in a given out.
• Hit the Deck: movement that results in an additional bounce from the pitch.
  

• Inside Out: ball movement past the off resulting in the batsman playing open-chested.
• Inside-out Shot: term for batsman’s stroke around leg stump into the off side.
  
• Jaffa: an unplayable delivery by the bowler.
• Leading Edge: ball is hit in the opposite direction intended by the batsman.
• Leg-bye: term for when batsmen run after the ball that has deflected off the pad. Not counted against the bowler.
• Leg-break/Spin: ball movement from leg to off for a right-hander.
• Leg-cutter: term for ball movement that moves away from the batsman towards the offside.
• Leg-side: area of pitch behind the batsman's legs.
• Length: described as short, full or good, this term refers to ball pitches down the wicket.
• Lifter: surprising upward movement of the ball.
• Line: attack utilized by bowler.
• Lollipop: very easy ball to hit.
• Long Hop: term for ball that pitches short and is available to hit.
• Loop: flight path of the ball.
  

• Michelle: refers to a bowler who has taken five wickets in an inning.
• Middle: ball delivery method to connect well. Middle also refers to centre of the field.
• Minefield: A complicated batting track where proper shots are difficult to put into play.
• New Ball: put in play usually after every 80 overs.
• Nick: faint edge off the bat.
• Nightwatchman: term for promotion of a non-batsman into the final overs.
• No-ball: illegal delivery, usually a bowler error.
• Nurdle: movement of the ball around and into gaps.
  

• Obstruction: act of blocking a fielder to prevent a catch being made or a run-out being affected.
• Occupy the Crease: occurs when a batsman remains at the wicket but scores slowly.
• Off-break/spin: ball turning into the right-hander from off to leg.
• Off-cutter: off break delivered with speed.
• Off the mark: first run score by batsman.
• Off-side: side of the pitch, either to batsman's right or left.
• On-side: same as leg-side.
• On the Up: hitting the ball while on the rise.
• Out: occurs for obstruction, bowled, hit the ball twice, hit wicket, handled the ball, caught, stumped, run out and timed out.
• Outside Edge: hit on the edge of the bat furthest away from the body.
  

• Paddle: terms for a sweep shot.
• Pair: jargon for a batsman who gets a duck in both innings.
• Pie Chucker: a part time bowler who bowls slowly.
• Pinch-hitters: batsman promotion to go for some quick runs.
• Pitch: term for the bounce of the ball.
• Play On: batsman hitting the stumps and he is bowled.
• Pudding: ball pitch that proves to be complicated to score quickly.
  

• Return Crease Parallel: area which bowler's back foot must land, otherwise a no-ball is called.
• Rip Big: wrist action resulting in superior revolutions on the ball.
• Ring Field: standard fielding arrangement.
• Roll: term for flattening the playing surface with a heavy roller.
• Rope: term for marking the perimeter of the field.
• Rough: pitch area that is messy because of bowler follow-through play.
• Run-chase: term for a pre-determined time or maximum number of overs set near the end of the game or day.
• Run Rate: the number of runs required per over.
• Run-up: bowlers position while awaiting ball delivery. 
• Runner: term for substitute cricket player for an injured batsman.
  

• Seam: stitching located between the two halves of a cricket game ball.
• Sitter: easy fielder catch.
• Sledging: refers to the verbal abuse used to disrupt the cricket player’s concentration.
• Standing back/Standing up: term for two wicketkeeper positions for fast bowler or spinners respectively.
• Stonewall: defense of one's wicket.
• Strike rate: number of runs a batsman scores per 100 balls.
• Sundries: another name for extras conceded by the bowling team.
• Swing: term for ball movement that curves through the air rather than off the seam.
  

• Timed Out: a mode of dismissal for a batsman failing to appear on the ground two minutes after a batsman has been dismissed.
• Tonk: a robust ball hit.
• Wagon-wheel: term for graph of region where a batsman has scored runs.
• Walk: term for batsman giving himself out without an umpire's decision. 
• Walking Wicket: a batsman who could get out of any delivery.
• Wicket: term for distance of 22 yards between the stumps.
• Wide: ball delivery pitched too far away for the batsman to score resulting in an extra and a re-bowl.
• Wrist Spin: ball delivery by a flick of the wrist as opposed to a tweak of the fingers.
• Zooter: a ball with a very low bounce, said to be almost running along the ground.