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Cricket Glossary
Learn the language of Cricket — answer-first definitions with real examples, beginner to pro.
227 terms
- Saliva Ban and Shining the BallBeginnerBowlers cannot use saliva because MCC banned it in the Laws from October 2022. It found saliva unhygienic and open to abuse, and data showed sweat polished the ball just as well. Fielders may still shine the ball on their clothing with sweat, but no artificial substance.
- Seam BowlingIntermediateSeam bowling is a style of pace bowling where the ball is gripped so the seam is upright and the ball lands on the seam. This causes it to deviate unpredictably off the pitch.
- Short Run in CricketBeginnerA short run happens when a batter turns for another run without first making their ground at the end. That run does not count, and the umpire signals one short. If the umpires decide batters ran short on purpose, no runs count, and the fielding side gets 5 penalty runs.
- Sidearm Throwdowns (Ball Thrower)IntermediateA sidearm, or dog stick, is a long-handled thrower that lets a coach deliver a hard ball at real pace without a bowler. It is ideal for grooving one length or shot. The ECB says only experienced adults should use one, and always from the full length of the pitch with a hard ball.
- SightscreenBeginnerA sightscreen is a large board behind the bowler, beyond the boundary, that gives the batter a plain background to see the ball against. If someone moves in front of it, a batter can pull away and ask the umpire to wait.
- Sledging (How to Deal With It)BeginnerSledging is fielders talking to a batter to put them off. To deal with it, do not reply, stick to your between-ball routine and focus only on the next ball. If words become obscene, offensive or insulting, tell the umpire, because that is a conduct offence under the Laws.
- Slider (Wrist Spinner's Straight One)IntermediateIn cricket, a slider is a wrist spinner's ball that slides straight on instead of turning, with a little backspin. It looks like a leg-break from the hand but skids through and holds its line. Batters playing for turn are beaten on the inside or trapped LBW.
- Slip CatchingIntermediateSlip catching is the specialist skill of catching edges in the slip cordon, the fielders placed behind the batter on the off side. It usually takes exceptional reflexes and soft hands.
- Slog SweepIntermediateThe slog sweep is a powerful, high-risk batting stroke where the batter sweeps a short-pitched or good-length ball over deep mid-wicket, aiming to hit it out of the ground for six.
- Slower BallIntermediateThe slower ball is a pace bowler's variation delivery, bowled well below their normal pace. It is meant to deceive a batter expecting the standard pace.
- Soft Hands in BattingIntermediateSoft hands means relaxing your grip at contact. The bat gives a little and the ball drops dead near your feet. It helps edges fall short of the slips and stops bat-pad catches against spin. Hard hands, pushing firmly at the ball, send edges flying.
- Square CutIntermediateThe square cut is a back-foot, cross-bat stroke played to a short, wide ball outside off stump. It slashes the ball square on the off side, toward point.
- Square DriveIntermediateA square drive hits a full, wide ball outside off stump square on the off side, through point or backward point. Step towards the line of the ball, extend your arms and bring the bat down at more of an angle than on a cover drive. Keep your head over the ball to keep it on the ground.
- Straight BatBeginnerPlaying with a straight bat means swinging the bat vertically, in line with the ball's path. It is the safest, most orthodox way to defend and drive full or good-length balls.
- Straight DriveIntermediateThe straight drive is a front-foot attacking stroke played to a full ball on or just outside off stump. It sends the ball back past the bowler, straight down the ground.
- StumpedBeginnerA batter is out stumped if the wicket-keeper breaks the wicket while they are out of their ground and not attempting a run. No other fielder may be involved. You cannot be stumped off a no ball, but you can be stumped off a wide. Keep part of your bat or body grounded behind the popping crease.
- StumpsBeginnerStumps are the three upright wooden posts — off stump, middle stump, and leg stump — that form each wicket in cricket, topped by two small bails that fall if the ball strikes them.
- Super OverBeginnerThe super over is a tie-breaking mechanism in limited-overs cricket — if scores are tied at the end of a match, each team bats one final over of six balls to determine the winner.
- Sweep ShotAdvancedThe sweep is a cross-bat shot played on one knee to a good-length ball, usually from a spinner. It sweeps the ball around to the leg side to counter turn and length.
- Sweet Spot and Bat ProfileIntermediateThe sweet spot, or middle, is the part of the blade that sends the ball away hardest with the least jar in your hands. It sits where the bat maker has put the most wood. The bat's profile is the shape of its back: the spine, the edges and how high the thickest point sits. That decides where the middle is.
- Swing BowlingAdvancedSwing bowling makes a fast-bowled ball curve sideways in the air, toward the batter (inswing) or away (outswing). The angled seam, helped by keeping one side shiny, makes the air flow differently over the two sides of the ball.
- Switch HitAdvancedA switch hit is when a right-handed batter swaps to a left-handed stance and grip as the bowler runs in, or a left-hander swaps to right. The batter then hits the ball as a batter of the other hand. The Laws of Cricket do not ban it. MCC said in 2008 that the stroke conforms to the Laws.
- T20 Batting ApproachIntermediateT20 batting means scoring quickly from the first ball while keeping enough wickets for the end. Attack the gaps in the six-over powerplay, rotate the strike and pick off bad balls in the middle overs, and save the biggest hitting for the death. Know your best scoring areas and which bowlers you want to target.
- T20 FormatBeginnerT20 (Twenty20) cricket is the shortest mainstream format of the game — each side bats for a maximum of 20 overs — producing fast-paced, high-scoring matches usually completed in under three hours.
- Tailender (Rabbit or Bunny)BeginnerA tailender is a player who bats near the end of the order, usually a specialist bowler. The tail is the group of lower-order batters. A rabbit is a very weak batter. A top batter who keeps getting out to the same bowler is called that bowler's rabbit or bunny.
- Taking GuardBeginnerTaking guard means lining up your bat with a chosen stump before you face. It tells you where your stumps are. Hold the bat upright on the crease and ask the umpire at the bowler's end for leg stump, middle and leg, or middle. Then mark the spot. Many batters start on middle or middle and leg.
- Test CricketBeginnerTest cricket is the oldest, longest, and most prestigious format of the sport — played over up to five days between two national teams, with each side receiving two innings and ten wickets to be dismissed.
- Test Match Batting (Batting for a Long Time)IntermediateBatting in a Test or multi-day match is about time at the crease as much as runs. Leave well, defend tightly and score off bad balls. Break the day into sessions and short goals, and be ready to get through hard spells against the new ball.
- The Hundred (100-Ball Cricket)BeginnerThe Hundred is a 100-ball-per-innings competition in England and Wales. Bowlers deliver five or ten balls in a row, as the captain chooses, and ends change every 10 balls. Each bowler may bowl up to 20 balls. Each side has a 25-ball powerplay with two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
- Throwing Mechanics – FieldingIntermediateThrowing mechanics in cricket fielding refers to the technique for generating an accurate, powerful, low-trajectory throw from the outfield or inner ring to the wicket-keeper or bowler's end stumps.
- Timed OutIntermediateUnder Law 40, the next ball must be ready to be faced within 3 minutes of a wicket falling or a batter retiring. If not, the incoming batter is out timed out. ICC playing conditions shorten this to 2 minutes in Tests and ODIs and 90 seconds in T20 internationals. The fielding side must appeal.
- Timing the BallIntermediateTiming the ball means meeting it with the middle of the bat at the right moment. The bat face should point where you want the ball to go. Keep your head still and over the ball, let it come under your eyes and swing smoothly through it. A well-timed shot travels further than the effort behind it suggests.
- Toe Guard, Scuff Sheet and Bat RepairBeginnerA toe guard protects the bottom of the bat from knocks off the ground and from yorkers. A clear anti-scuff sheet protects the face from minor cracks, and edge tape adds protection to the edges. All willow bats crack over time. Get small cracks repaired early, before they spread.
- Top HandIntermediateIn cricket batting, the top hand is the upper hand on the bat handle (for a right-hander, the left hand) and controls straight-bat strokes. A strong top hand keeps the bat face straight through the hitting zone.
- Top-SpinnerIntermediateA top-spinner is a spin delivery with forward overspin, so it dips in the air and bounces higher than the batter expects. It turns very little sideways. Wrist spinners use it to beat batters on length, causing top edges, LBWs and catches to close fielders.
- Upper CutAdvancedThe upper cut is an attacking stroke played to a short, wide, high ball outside off stump. It sends the ball over the slips or gully area for four or six.
- Wagon Wheel, Pitch Map and BeehiveBeginnerA wagon wheel is a chart of where a batter hit their scoring shots. Lines run from the pitch out to where each shot went. A pitch map shows where a bowler's balls landed on the pitch. A beehive shows where those balls passed the batter at the stumps.
- Walking (Leaving Without Waiting for the Umpire)BeginnerWalking means a batter leaves the field after edging a catch, without waiting for the umpire's decision. The Laws do not make you walk. They let you leave without an appeal, but an umpire cannot give you out unless a fielder appeals. Whether to walk is a personal and team choice.
- Warming Up Before BattingBeginnerWarm up before batting with light jogging and moving stretches, then a few short sprints and turns like running between the wickets. Finish with shadow batting and some throwdowns or catches to get your eyes and hands going. If you bat lower down, warm up again shortly before you go in.
- Ways to Be Out in CricketBeginnerThe Laws of Cricket list nine ways to be out. They are bowled, caught, hit the ball twice, hit wicket, LBW, obstructing the field, run out, stumped and timed out. A batter can also be recorded as 'retired out'. Off a no ball, only hit the ball twice, obstructing the field and run out apply.
- Weight TransferBeginnerWeight transfer in batting is the movement of the batter's bodyweight from back foot to front foot (or vice versa) as the stroke is executed, generating power and setting up correct balance through impact.
- Why Your Drives Go in the AirIntermediateYour drives go in the air when you hit the ball before your head is over it or before the ball has reached you. The bat face opens or points up, so the ball lifts. Common causes are driving at balls that are not full enough, reaching away from the body and hitting too early. Get your head over the ball and play it later.
- WicketBeginnerIn cricket, a wicket refers both to the set of three stumps and two bails at each end of the pitch, and to the act of dismissing a batter — "taking a wicket" means getting a batter out.
- Wicketkeeping: Standing Up and Standing BackIntermediateA wicketkeeper crouches with weight on the balls of the feet, gloves together and head still. They rise with the ball rather than ahead of it. Against pace, stand back far enough to take the ball at about waist height. Against spin, stand up close to the stumps, stay low and bring the gloves back to the stumps for a stumping.
- WideBeginnerA wide is a delivery the umpire judges too wide, or too high, for the striker to hit with a normal cricket stroke from where they stand (Law 22.1). It adds one run and must be bowled again. Many competitions paint wide guide lines and set stricter limits in their playing conditions.
- Wobble Seam and Scrambled SeamIntermediateWobble seam is a fast-bowling release where the seam wobbles from side to side in flight instead of staying upright. The ball may land on the stitching or the leather, so it can nip either way off the pitch. Even the bowler does not always know which way. Scrambled and cross-seam deliveries are related variations.
- YorkerIntermediateA yorker is a delivery bowled to pitch right at the batter's feet, under the swinging bat. It is one of the hardest balls to score off and a key death-overs weapon.
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