Cricket has its own language. This glossary explains common terms in plain words for new fans.
Batting
- Strike rate: runs scored per 100 balls faced.
- Duck: getting out without scoring.
- Boundary: a shot that reaches the rope for four runs, or six if it clears the rope on the full.
- Century: 100 runs by a batter in one innings.
- Not out: the batter remains unbeaten at the end of the innings.
Bowling
- Over: six legal balls bowled by one bowler.
- Maiden: an over in which no runs are scored.
- Yorker: a ball pitched at the batter’s feet.
- Bouncer: a short ball that rises towards the batter’s chest or head.
- Economy rate: runs conceded per over.
Dismissals
- Bowled: the ball hits the stumps.
- Caught: a fielder catches the ball before it bounces.
- LBW: leg before wicket, when the ball hits the pad and would have hit the stumps.
- Run out: the stumps are broken before the batter reaches the crease.
Match terms
- Powerplay: the opening overs in limited-overs cricket when fielding restrictions apply.
- Follow-on: in Tests, when a side that is far behind is asked to bat again.
- Declaration: a captain ends the innings voluntarily.
Photo: Aniket Suryavanshi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (India v Australia Test, Bengaluru, 2017).
