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Arm Ball: Generally bowled by a finger-spin bowler, off-spinner or left-arm orthodox spin bowler, this ball is most often a faster ball which because of its velocity doesn't grip and turn off the pitch therefore changing the nature of the delivery, and causing batsmen to play the wrong line of the ball if they are not aware of the different nature of the delivery.

Barracking: Abuse from members of the crowd attending a match which is directed at players, often of a good nature but with a barb or two about the subject's level of skill. An example being directed to a bowler who is trying to cope with a batsman who is not playing well, "Bowl him a piano, see if he can play that".

Beamer: A fast ball bowled intentionally, or otherwise, at the batsman's head. Can be dealt with by the umpire under "Unfair Play". Is also known as a "bean ball".

Bean Ball: (see: Beamer)

Blob: A duck which is represented on the scoresheet as a 0 and because of its shape probably describes the origins of the word usage. (see: Duck)

Block:This is the process whereby a batsman chooses his position on the crease to play the bowler. Is also known as taking guard. When someone, generally a fast bowler, talks about "knocking your block off" he is signalling his intent to bowl a bouncer at the batsman. The description "...doing his block" can apply to any number of players in the field, but is generally the outpouring of venom delivered by bowlers who have catches dropped off them, captains upset at fielding efforts or bowlers "sledging" (see: Sledging) batsmen who have been particularly hard to dismiss.

Blockholer: A ball propelled by the bowler into the mark the batsman has made on the crease for his guard. Is generally a very difficult ball to play and is better known as a "Yorker" (see: Yorker).

Bodyline: A form of bowling which attacked the batsman, limiting his options for avoiding the ball, and setting a particular field from which to benefit from any false shot induced by the method of attack. Historically, had its origins during the 1932/33 Ashes series in Australia when England (MCC) captain Douglas Jardine employed the method mainly as a means of containing the skill of Don Bradman, the great Australian batsman. However, he also used it against other players as well. It was very unpopular with Australians and was outlawed at their insistence. The term, body line, was first used by an Australian writer Jack Worrall who wrote for the Australasian to describe the bowling style of Bill Voce and from that point 'bodyline bowling' became the accepted description of the bowling style in the series.

Bosie, Bosey: (see: Googly)

Bouncer (Bumper): A ball delivered by a faster bowler which is not so much regarded as a wicket-taking ball but as a method of unsettling a batsman. It is bowled from a shorter length and therefore bounces higher, usually around head height to force indecision from batsmen. Some batsmen respond by attacking the ball and attempting to play it with a hook shot. If played successfully they can often pick up six runs by propelling the ball over the boundary on the leg-side, in the region behind the square-leg (see: Square) umpire. However, if not played properly, the ball can lob up into the air and be caught by strategically placed fieldsmen. It can also hit batsmen and is generally not bowled to fellow bowlers who are not regarded as batsmen of ability. New Zealand bowler Ewen Chatfield was hit in the head by a bouncer when playing against England in Auckland in 1974/75. He was technically dead but was given the kiss of life by England physiotherapist Bernard Thomas. When Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram started to over-do the bouncers to Chatfield in a 1985 Test in Dunedin, umpire Fred Goodall invoked the laws of cricket to shield Chatfield from that sort of bowling. A higher regarded batsman, Lance Cairns, had been forced to retire hurt earlier that afternoon with a fractured skull after being hit by an Akram bouncer.

Boundaries: These are a bonus for batsmen able to get the ball past fieldsmen and deep into the unpopulated outfield. They can be four, when the ball lands before reaching the boundary (see: Boundary), or a six, which clears the boundary on the full.

Boundary: A pre-assigned border to the playing field which can be marked, most often, by a rope or, in permanent grounds, by a fence or in club games by a notional ring marked by boundary flags. A development in the game in 1884 when written into the laws. Previously, batsmen had to run out all their runs when hitting the ball. This allowed a romantic touch to the game, as captured in Thomas Spencer's great Australian cricket poem "How McDougall topped the score", in which McDougall's dog took the ball in his mouth after his master had hit it with his team in perilous trouble. He led the fieldsmen a merry march until the required runs had been scored and his master yelled: "Drop it!"

Bowling: The method by which the ball is presented to batsmen in a match. There are numerous varieties, fast, swing, medium or spin, with variations on each.

Centurion: Often erroneously regarded as a person who has made a century, 100 runs, in a match. He is a century maker. A centurion was a leader of 100 soldiers in the Roman Army. The description centurion probably best describes someone who has made 100 appearances for his team.

Century: The scoring of 100 runs by a batsman.

Chinaman: The delivery bowled by a left-armer bowling leg-spin. Leg-spin is bowled out of the back of the hand. The use of 'Chinaman' has often been a source of argument because people erroneously look at the direction of spin as the result of the bowling method. Because the ball is bowled out of the back of the left-hander's hand, in the same manner as by a right-hander, the method is leg-spin. Because the left-hander's spin has the same effect as a right-arm off-spinner, it would be wrong to call the left-hander's bowling off-spin, just as it would be wrong to call a left-arm orthodox spinner, a leg-spinner. The left-arm orthodox spinner delivers his ball with a finger-spin method, not out of the back of the hand. Any other stance is discriminatory towards already over-disadvantaged left-handers. However, some, most notably in Australia and the West Indies regard a Chinaman delivery as the left-arm leg-spinner's googly, which has the same effect as the right-arm leg-spinner. Origins of the term are often debated, but may have their origins with West Indian left-arm leg-spinner Ellis Ahchong who played in the early West Indian Test sides of 1929-33.

Chinese Cut: This misplayed shot which generally just misses the wickets and the wicket-keeper and goes for runs to an unprotected area of the field has some regional variations. It is also known as a French cut, or a Harrow cut.

Chucker: Is the common euphemism for a person who throws the ball, rather than bowling it. This gives the 'bowler' an unfair advantage as the jerking action of the delivery propels the ball toward the batsmen much faster than in the bowling of the ball. An area of much conflict in the game, and probably its greatest problem. The most recent attitude towards 'chuckers' allows for players with birth defects who are able to bowl with a 'different' action to be allowed to compete on equal terms.

Cow Shot: A slog, an inelegant shot generally played by those who have no idea of the finer niceties of batting. The sort of shot that might be played by a baseballer and when connected it goes into an area of the outfield between mid-wicket and long-on which is known as 'cow corner,' or, in the baseballer's case, between second and third base to the right outfield.

Duck: To be dismissed for a duck is to be out without scoring. Referred to as a duck because of the resemblance of 0 to a duck's egg. To be dismissed first ball is to be out for a golden duck. To be dismissed in the same game twice for a duck is to achieve a pair, while two first ball ducks in the same match are known as an Emperor's, or sometimes a King, pair.

First-class: A collective standard among the Test-playing nations to measure representative cricket. First-class cricket is the level below Test match class and is the cornerstone of development in each country. Standards can vary between countries but statistics achieved are a common measure of ability.

Ever: Not generally regarded as a cricketing term in the traditional sense. But because of a decline in English usage it tends to be used as a redundant add-on to descriptive analysis of achievements, such as, 'for the first time (ever)', 'the highest (ever) score', 'the all-time best (ever)' and numerous other descriptions. A close relative of 'new world record!'

Follow-on: A situation applied against a batting side where they have failed to score, in their first innings, a total of 200 runs or less than that achieved by the opposition in Test matches, or 150 runs or less, in four or three-day matches, (including Tests in rain-affected matches). The opposing captain who has bowled the opposition out has the right to ask them to bat again. This is often done to take advantage of conditions. However, there have been occasions when the follow-on has not been enforced.

Full Toss: A ball which doesn't bounce before it reaches the batsman. Usually conducive to a free hit by the batsman.

Googly: No relation to the Internet search engine, google. This is a description for the ball delivered by a leg-spinner which, although a similar action is imparted upon the ball, it does the opposite of what the batsman expects. This gave rise to the expression that the ball was a wrong 'un, as in wrong one. The origin of the word googly is shrouded in dispute. Sir Pelham Warner wrote that the word 'googly' had been coined by a writer from the Lyttelton Times during the 1902/03 tour on which B J T Bosanquet caused all manner of havoc with his wrong 'un which was known at the time as a 'bosie' in honour of its creator. However, a search of the Lyttelton Times from the era of the tour showed no evidence of the use of such a description. There was also a claim that it was a Maori word, but that is unlikely. Other claims centre on the word being used to describe a lob type of delivery which mesmerised batsmen causing them to 'goggle' at the ball. The expression for this delivery was used in Australia in the 1890s.

Hat-trick: When taking three wickets in three successive deliveries a bowler is said to have achieved a hat-trick. One of the harder feats to achieve in the game it used to be the cause for the bowler being given a hat.

Jaffa (Jaffer): A ball with just enough mischief in it to render it almost impossible to play. It tends to do a little off the pitch from the sort of length that a batsman might expect to be able to control. Also a highly-popular chocolate-coated confectionery in New Zealand which because of its round nature tended to be rolled down wooden cinema floors to the annoyance of other, generally older, patrons in earlier years.

Leg Before Wicket (lbw): The method of dismissal whereby the ball hits a batsman's pads in front of the wickets and which, in the umpire's view, would have dismissed the batsman if it hadn't hit the pads. One of the most controversial dismissals in the game because it relies solely on the judgment of one of the two match officials. While a player can be given out to a ball moving from outside off stump, he cannot be given out from a ball outside leg stump. The dismissal has its origins in 1788 making it one of the longer standing sources of conflict in sporting law interpretation in world sport.

Maiden: Nothing to do with women's cricket, although it does apply to their game as well as men's. The word is a contradiction in itself. While it represents an over in which no runs have been conceded by the bowler, off the bat or from a no-ball or wide, it is not without some value. To bowl a maiden when the opposition are on the charge can be worth a great deal in the tactical execution of a game. Sometimes the word maiden can be used to mean first as in maiden speech in Parliament or in the case of a player scoring his first 100 in first-class or Test matches, it is described as a maiden century.

Mankad: Originally the name of an Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad. But when he twice ran out Australian batsman Bill Brown, by stopping in his bowling action and catching the batsman already out of his ground while looking to support the batsman facing the bowling, the act was described as a 'Mankad'. This method of dismissal causes great offence when it is employed and it is regarded as cricketing etiquette to firstly warn the batsman of his offence. By the same token it is regarded as being outside the spirit of the game, although in one of those curious examples of reverse selectivity the batsman cheating by getting a head start on a single is regarded as hard done by if dismissed in this fashion.

MCC: The Marylebone Cricket Club, the spiritual home of cricket at Lord's in St Johns Wood in London. For the greater period of cricket's formal history, the MCC which was founded in 1787, was the autocratic arbiter in cricket matters. No law could be changed without its approval. And while the administration of the game world-wide has moved to the International Cricket Council, and to the England and Wales Cricket Board in Britain, the MCC is still regarded as the ultimate defender of the laws of the game, a type of Privy Council of cricket. For many years, English touring teams were known officially as the MCC but as the 'great' has ebbed away from Britain and its colonies, so the influence of the MCC has diminished. Also the initials of the Melbourne Cricket Club in Victoria.

Meat: As in 'the meat of the bat', a phrase which had its origins long before Tony Greig started to use it in television commentaries. It represents the core of the cricket bat, its thickest point which also provides much of the impetus in scoring shots, especially when securing boundaries.

Nelson: Possibly the expression most queried in cricket terms. The expression is used when the score is on 111 and is regarded as an unlucky number, although why that should be is unknown. The expression has its origins with the legendary British admiral, Lord Nelson and the fact that he had one eye and one arm. Many erroneously assume that he also had only one leg but that is wrong. The third one in the sequence is variously attributed to other parts of his anatomy, often depending on one's choice. The Australians prefer to regard 87 as their unlucky number that is a little more understandable because of the fact that it is 13, another unlucky number, short of 100. In reality, neither really matters, and the numbers are just one of the idiosyncrasies of cricket.

New Ball: Every innings starts with a new ball, and because of the wear and tear that can occur in 80 overs, the option to take a second new ball is available to the fielding captain at that point. This can be a decided boost to a team because a new ball is fresher, offers more movement and generally comes on the first day when 10 overs remain for a last assault on the batsmen in a day. The wear on the ball is regarded as an important feature in the tactical make-up of a match. Spinners generally prefer to operate with a worn ball, while in more recent times a ball that is excessively worn on one side, and carefully groomed on the other can result in reverse swing, (see: Swing) where the ball acts in opposite fashion to that normally to be expected. This is opposed to baseball, where a new ball can be available several times during one inning, especially if there are a number of foul hits. Spectators in cricket are not expected to make a souvenir of the match ball.

Nightwatchman: This is not the person who looks after the ground overnight. It is the title bestowed on a generally non-important bat-wielder in the latter part of a day's play or in murky conditions. He is placed higher in the batting order as protection for batsmen who can do without the prospect of having to battle bowlers on top of the batting in conditions more favourable to them. Can be a waste of time when the batsmen prove ill-equipped to handle the situation, or it can be a boon when bowlers like Harold Larwood take advantage of their boost in the order to score 98 before they are dismissed.

No-ball: Another of the idiosyncratic expressions of cricket. This is because there is always a ball. That is except when it is hit far enough out of the ground to require a 'replacement ball' - a ball deemed to be of similar age in a match sense by the umpires who generally choose from a box held at the ground for these sorts of occasions. However, 'no-ball' is used to describe what the umpire determines an illegal delivery. The reasons for this have changed over the years, but now in first-class cricket, it represents a ball delivered from in front of the front line on the pitch, known as the 'popping crease' (see: Popping Crease). It can also be used to describe a ball regarded as being thrown by the bowler, although calling a thrower has become less prevalent than the deed. In one-day cricket it can also be used to describe a ball regarded as unplayable by a batsman, such as a full toss aimed above the batsman's waist.

Nurdle: A definite cricket description this. It is used when a batsman doesn't make a definite choice of shot to a ball. Instead, he guides the ball towards gaps in the field with not a lot of force in order to secure one run, a single. Tends to be used in one-day games, or in other matches when batsmen are attempting to keep the score ticking over.

Off: As in off-break, off-spinner, off-side, off-cutter, off drive. The off is one side of the ground, the leg or, surprise, surprise, the on-side, is the other. Looking down the pitch from the umpire's perspective, the off-side is to his left. So any ball pitching on the left-hand side and moving to the right comes from the off, no matter the type of delivery used, and any shots played by the batsmen into that area are regarded as shots to the 'off'.

One-day: Traditionally, one-day cricket was just that, a game played over one day. These tended to be club matches, or games played in such poor conditions that they were incapable of lasting longer than one day. More recently, they have come to describe a particular type of game, generally played within a limited number of overs, and these are generally 50-over affairs. This form of game which ensured a definite result, in most instances, became popular in 1963 when the Gillette Cup was introduced in England on Sundays. It is an entertaining form of the game where far more risks tend to be taken than in traditional first-class matches. An ideal form of cricket for television coverage, one-day cricket has resulted in huge amounts of money being poured into cricket and the game's World Cup is played in the limited overs format.

One Short: The expression used when a batsman fails to lodge his bat correctly over the popping crease (see: Popping Crease) to register a run. This run is then deducted from the batsman's score and the bowler's analysis.

Pair: As in most other things, a pair is a pair, two of something. But in cricket, a pair is the nearly ultimate form of batting disgrace. It is the occasion when a batsman is twice dismissed without scoring. It is only worsened by an 'Emperor', 'King, or golden, pair", the occasion when the batsmen is twice dismissed without scoring, from the first ball he faced in each innings. Had its origins in spectacles with the glasses frames looking like two 0 0s.

Popping Crease: This is couched in the antiquity of cricket. This was because in the earliest days of cricket a hole was cut in the pitch between the stumps (see: Stump). It was big enough to hold the ball, or the bottom of the bat. The object was for batsmen when running, to place their bat in the hole at the other end before the wicket-keeper, or fieldsman, was able to place the ball in the hole to effect a run out. However, the number of hand injuries in achieving this requirement resulted in a change, firstly to touch a stick held by the umpire, and then, once the umpires probably got tired of being assaulted by batsmen, to a line three feet 10 inches from the line of the wickets which later became four feet over which the batsmen were required to place their bat to register a run.

Rabbit: Someone not really regarded as being at all proficient with a bat. The ultimate derogatory expression for a batsman is to be regarded as a specific bowler's 'rabbit' or 'bunny,' which generally grows from the number of times a batsman gets out to the same bowler. The modern instance in this regard concerns South African Daryl Cullinan and Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne.

Referee: Not to be confused with 'Umpire.' The 'referee' is the representative of the game's ruling body, the International Cricket Council, and is supposed to ensure that the integrity of the game is not being compromised. Has wide-ranging powers to ensure it doesn't happen.

Round The Wicket: This describes the bowler delivering the ball from the side of the pitch where his bowling arm is on the outside of the wickets. Normally a right-arm bowler would bowl on the left-hand side of the pitch. But to change the angle of delivery he will decide to bowl round the wicket.

Runner: Technically this could describe any player on the field, but in cricket it is applied to a person who comes on to do the running for an injured batsman. This can cause a great deal of confusion because the batsman facing the bowler is not allowed to run when he has a runner. The runner generally stands out by the field umpire and runs off the pitch. He can be run out, and just to add to the confusion so can the non-running batsman, should he step out of his crease at all. When the injured batsman is not facing he stands with the field umpire and the runner stands at the crease at the bowler's end.

Seam: The stitching on the ball.

Shoulder Arms: The description of when a batsman decides that rather than risk being dismissed from a ball he lifts the bat high above his shoulder to attempt to keep his bat and hands out of harm's way.

Six: When the ball is lifted over the boundary on the full, either by the batsman, or by a fielder who fails to catch the ball and who sees it lob over the boundary before hitting the ground. First became an in-ground scoring option in 1910; previously it had to be hit right out of the ground to register as six.

Sledging: Probably best described as verbal cricket. It is where batsmen are talked to by fieldsmen or bowlers as a means of weakening their concentration. Believed to have been Australian in origin and from the sledgehammer-like effect of breaking apart the batsman's concentration.

Slip: The fielding position behind the batsman and wide of the wicket-keeper where fieldsmen attempt to catch the 'slips' that occur from batsmen when the fail to properly connect with balls.

Square: That area of the ground square, that is, 90 degrees to the pitch on other side of the batsman. Thus, the umpire on the leg-side of the batsman is known as the square-leg umpire. But is also known as the area of the pitch on the ground surface. Also during the 1960s and '70s was probably the hippie-like expression to describe conservative administrators, ie 'a square.'

Stump: One of the three poles at each end of the pitch. Collectively, the three stumps are called the 'wicket' and the expression originates from the day when tree stumps were the original target of bowlers. Stumps are 28 inches or 71.1cm high. When a batsman leaves his crease to play a ball, fails to connect and then doesn't get back behind the crease, he can be dismissed, stumped, by the wicket-keeper if he has held the ball in his gloves to dislodge the balls resting on top of the stumps.

Swing: The movement of the ball in the air from faster bowlers who apply a particular grip to the ball and employ a specific bowling action to bowl either an in-swinger which comes back into the batsman from the off-side or an out-swinger which leaves the batsman on his off-side. With an older ball, it is possible to employ reverse-swing where the ball does the opposite to the action applied in propelling the ball down the pitch. There is much discussion on what causes the ball to swing, but the most compelling research has been done by New Zealand scientist Dr Brian Wilkins and is presented in his book, "The Bowler's Art".

Test: Is exactly that, a test between two teams. Has become the description of a match in the longer variety of international contests scheduled to occur over five days.

Toss: The flicking of a coin by the home captain before a match, with the visiting captain calling his choice of heads or tails. The winner of the toss then chooses whether he will bat or bowl first.

Twelfth Man: A player who misses the cut on a given day. Teams generally name 12 players for a game and leave one player out, depending on what their assessment of the conditions is, and which type of player is best likely to prosper in the conditions. Also an Australian comedian who mimics television commentators from that country.

Umpire: Two onfield adjudicators on matters of cricket law, one at each end of the pitch.

V, or The Vee: That area forming a V on the field from the batsman's position looking back down the field past the bowler. To play in the V is generally to play the ball straight, or with the slightest emphasis to the left or right of the bowler.

Wicket: The collection of three stumps at either end of the pitch, although increasingly players tend to refer to the pitch as, 'the wicket.' It also describes a dismissal as being the fall of a 'wicket.' There are 10 wickets available in an innings and partnerships are referred to as first, second etc wicket partnerships.

Wicket-keeper: The guardian of the wickets. The player suitably protected with gloves and pads to take all the deliveries sent down by bowlers, who must also field chances offered by batsmen edging the ball. Wide: Is exactly as it implies, a ball bowled that is too wide for a batsman to comfortably reached and results in a run being awarded to the bowling team and a penalty ball to be bowled.

Wrong 'un: A leg-spinner's delivery which, by the action imparted on the ball, does the opposite to that expected by the delivery action.

Yorker: A ball of full length that the batsman fails to appreciate before it hits his stumps. Especially effective if disguised as a slower ball or as an in-swinging delivery. So called because to york, or to Yorkshire was to cheat against them. But by modern usage is a more friendly deception rather than a cheating option.

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