Cricket Glossary: Terms Explained A to Z

By the Live Cricket Zone editorial team · Last reviewed 17 September 2026

Cricket has a vocabulary of its own, much of it a century or more old. The definitions below are short by design; where a term deserves a fuller explanation there is a link to the relevant guide.

A to C

All-rounder: A player selected for both batting and bowling.
Appeal: The fielding side asking the umpire for a decision, traditionally "How's that?". No dismissal is given without an appeal.
Arm ball: A finger-spinner's delivery that does not turn and follows the line of the arm.
Ashes: The Test series between England and Australia, played since 1882.
Average (batting): Runs scored divided by times dismissed. See the stats guide.
Average (bowling): Runs conceded divided by wickets taken; lower is better.
Bail: One of the two small pieces of wood resting on top of the three stumps. At least one must be dislodged for the wicket to be broken.
Beamer: A full toss reaching the batter above waist height; a no-ball and, if repeated, grounds for the bowler's removal.
Bouncer: A short-pitched ball that rises to chest or head height.
Boundary: The edge of the field; a ball crossing it after bouncing scores four, without bouncing six.
Bye: A run taken when the ball passes the batter without touching bat or body. Not debited to the bowler.
Carry: Whether the ball reaches the keeper or slips without bouncing; "it didn't carry" means a catch was not clean.
Century: A score of 100 or more by one batter in an innings. A double century is 200.
Chinaman: Older term for a left-arm wrist spinner's stock ball; now usually called left-arm unorthodox.
Cow corner: Informal name for the deep midwicket to long-on area where cross-batted slogs land.
Crease: The painted lines at each end: the popping crease marks the batter's ground, the bowling crease the line of the stumps.

D to H

Dead ball: A ball no longer in play; no runs can be scored and no batter dismissed.
Death overs: The final overs of a limited-overs innings, usually the last four or five.
Declaration: A captain closing their side's innings before all ten wickets have fallen. See follow-on and declarations.
DLS: The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method for resetting targets in rain-affected matches. See the DLS guide.
Dot ball: A delivery from which no run is scored.
Doosra: An off-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way to their stock ball.
DRS: The Decision Review System for challenging umpiring decisions. See the DRS guide.
Duck: A score of nought. A golden duck is out first ball; a diamond duck is out without facing a ball.
Economy rate: Runs conceded per over bowled.
Extras: Runs not scored off the bat: byes, leg byes, wides, no-balls and penalties.
Fifty: A score of 50 or more; also called a half-century.
Follow-on: Making a side that trails heavily after the first innings bat again immediately.
Free hit: In limited-overs cricket, the delivery after a no-ball, from which the batter cannot be out bowled, caught, LBW or stumped.
Full toss: A ball that reaches the batter without bouncing.
Gardening: A batter patting down the pitch between deliveries.
Googly: A leg-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way to the stock ball; also called a wrong'un.
Half-volley: A ball pitching just short of the batter's reach, easy to drive.
Hat-trick: Three wickets in three consecutive deliveries by the same bowler, which may span overs or even innings.

I to O

Innings: One side's turn to bat, or one batter's individual turn. The word is the same in singular and plural.
Jaffa: Slang for an unplayably good delivery.
King pair: Out first ball in both innings of a match.
LBW: Leg before wicket. See ways of getting out.
Leg bye: A run taken after the ball hits the batter's body (not the bat) while they were attempting a shot or avoiding the ball.
Length: How far down the pitch the ball lands: short, good, full.
Line: The direction of the ball relative to the stumps: off stump, middle, leg.
Maiden: An over in which no runs are conceded off the bat or as wides and no-balls.
Mankad: Informal name for running out the non-striker before the ball is bowled; a normal run out under the current Laws.
Nelson: A score of 111, superstitiously considered unlucky in England; 87 plays the same role in Australia.
Net run rate: Runs scored per over minus runs conceded per over across a tournament. See the NRR guide.
Nightwatchman: A lower-order batter sent in late in the day to protect a better batter until the close.
No-ball: An illegal delivery, usually for overstepping the crease or a high full toss; costs one run and must be re-bowled.
Over: Six legal deliveries from one end.
Over-rate: The speed at which a fielding side gets through its overs; slow rates draw fines and, in limited-overs cricket, fielding penalties.

P to S

Pair: A duck in both innings of a match.
Partnership: The runs added while two particular batters are together.
Pinch-hitter: A lower-order batter promoted to hit quickly, usually in a powerplay.
Pitch: The 22-yard strip between the stumps; also the point where the ball lands.
Powerplay: A period of fielding restrictions in limited-overs cricket. See the powerplay guide.
Required run rate: Runs per over the chasing side needs from the remaining overs.
Reverse sweep: A sweep shot played with the hands reversed so the ball goes to the off side.
Rough: The scuffed area outside the crease created by bowlers' feet, which spinners aim for.
Run rate: Runs scored per over.
Seam: The stitched ridge around the ball; also movement off the pitch caused by landing on it.
Sightscreen: The large white (or black, for pink and white balls) screen behind the bowler that helps the batter see the ball.
Slog: A hard, often cross-batted shot with little regard for technique.
Stance: The batter's position while waiting for the ball.
Strike rate (batting): Runs per 100 balls faced.
Strike rate (bowling): Balls bowled per wicket taken.
Super Over: A one-over-a-side eliminator used to settle ties. See the tie-breakers guide.
Sweep: A shot played on one knee, hitting a ball on the leg side square or behind.

T to Z

Tail: The lower-order batters, usually specialist bowlers.
Tea: The second interval of the day in Test cricket, between the second and third sessions.
Toss: The coin toss before the match; the winner chooses to bat or bowl.
Twelfth man: The named substitute fielder who may not bat or bowl.
Umpire's call: A DRS outcome where the technology is too marginal to overturn the on-field decision.
Wagon wheel: A diagram showing where a batter's scoring shots went.
Wicket: The stumps and bails; a batter's dismissal; or the pitch itself, depending on context.
Wicketkeeper: The fielder behind the stumps wearing gloves and pads.
Wide: A delivery too far from the batter to be hit with a normal stroke; costs one run and must be re-bowled.
Yorker: A ball pitched at the batter's feet.
Zooter: A leg-spinner's variation that skids on with little bounce; Shane Warne's name for a version of the slider.