Cricket Terminology Glossary

Cricket has more vocabulary than any sport has any right to. This glossary covers the terms you will hear during a SweepSix match plus the rest of the words that show up on commentary or in scorecards. Pages cross-link to the scoring guide.

Batting

Strike rate: Runs scored per 100 balls faced. The higher the better in T20.
Boundary: Four runs scored when the ball reaches the rope after bouncing.
Six: Six runs scored when the ball clears the boundary on the full.
Cover drive: Front-foot shot played through the off side, between cover and extra cover.
Pull shot: Cross-bat horizontal shot played to a short ball, usually toward the leg side.
Sweep: Front-knee-down shot played across the body, usually against spin.
Dilscoop: Audacious shot invented by Tillakaratne Dilshan, scooped over the wicket-keeper for six.
Late cut: Delicate shot played behind point off the back foot.
Edge: Ball striking the side of the bat, often resulting in a catch or four through slips.
Maiden: An over in which no runs are scored off the bat (extras don't count for this purpose in some definitions).

Bowling

Yorker: A delivery aimed at the batter's toes, typically used at the death because it is hard to hit cleanly.
Bouncer: Short-pitched fast delivery aimed at the chest or head.
Swing: Lateral movement of the ball through the air. Inswing curls toward the batsman, outswing curls away.
Seam: Movement off the pitch caused by the raised seam of the ball.
Doosra: An off-spinner's leg-break, a delivery that turns the opposite way to the bowler's stock ball.
Googly: A leg-spinner's wrong-un, turning into the right-hander instead of away.
Carrom ball: A delivery flicked between thumb and middle finger, popularised by Ajantha Mendis.
Slower ball: A delivery deliberately bowled with less pace to deceive timing. Many variations: knuckle, off-cutter, back-of-the-hand.
Wicket maiden: A maiden over in which the bowler also takes at least one wicket.
Economy rate: Runs conceded per over by a bowler. Lower is better.

Field Positions

Slip: Behind the batsman on the off side, next to the keeper. First slip, second slip, etc.
Gully: Slightly wider than the slips, still behind square on the off side.
Point: Square on the off side, around 30 yards from the bat.
Cover: Forward of point on the off side. Extra cover is wider still.
Mid-off / Mid-on: Straight, on either side of the bowler.
Mid-wicket: Forward of square on the leg side. The single most rewarding region in T20.
Square leg: Square on the leg side.
Fine leg: Behind square on the leg side, near the boundary.
Third man: Behind square on the off side, near the boundary, usually used to catch edges.
Long on / Long off: The straight boundary positions, used to catch lofted drives.

Match Situations

Powerplay: The opening overs of an innings with field restrictions. In T20, the first 6 overs.
Death overs: The final overs of an innings, often the last 4-5, when the batting team is hitting out.
Free hit: The delivery after a no-ball. The batter cannot be out except run-out.
DLS / Duckworth-Lewis-Stern: The mathematical method used to set revised targets in rain-affected matches.
Super Over: A one-over-per-side tiebreaker used when matches end level.
NRR (Net Run Rate): Tournament tiebreaker that compares run rates across all matches played.
Innings: One team's turn to bat. T20 matches have one innings per team.
Declaration: A captain ending their team's innings before being all out, in Test match cricket only.

Dismissals

Bowled: The ball hits the stumps directly off the bowler's delivery.
Caught: The ball is caught off the bat before it touches the ground.
LBW: Leg before wicket. The ball would have hit the stumps but the batter's body intervened.
Run out: A fielder breaks the stumps with the ball while a batter is short of the crease during a run.
Stumped: The keeper breaks the stumps when a batter is out of the crease and not running.
Hit-wicket: The batter dislodges their own stumps with their bat or body.
Diamond duck: Out for zero without facing a ball, usually run out at the non-striker's end.
Golden duck: Out for zero on the first ball faced.
Pair: Out for zero in both innings of a Test match.

Equipment and Field

Pitch: The 22-yard strip in the middle where bowling and batting happen.
Crease: The lines marked on the pitch defining the safe zones for batters and bowlers.
Stumps: Three vertical wooden posts at each end of the pitch, with two bails resting on top.
Bails: Small wooden pieces resting on the stumps. They have to be dislodged for many dismissals to count.
Wagon wheel: A graphic showing where a batter has scored their runs on the field.
Hot Spot: Infrared technology used during DRS reviews to detect bat-ball contact.
Snickometer: Audio analysis used during DRS reviews to detect faint edges.

Apply It in a Match

SweepSix uses every term in this glossary on its scoreboard and commentary.

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