Cricket Glossary: 40 Essential Terms Every Fan Should Know
A quick A-to-Z cricket glossary covering forty key terms, from average and bouncer to yorker and wicket maiden, in plain English for new fans.
Cricket has a rich vocabulary, and commentary can sound like another language to newcomers. This glossary explains forty commonly used terms in plain English. Use it alongside our guides to reading a scorecard and fielding positions, and refer back whenever a word in a match report is unfamiliar.
Forty key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Appeal | A fielding side’s request to the umpire for a dismissal, often shouted as ‘How’s that?’ |
| Average (batting) | Runs scored divided by the number of times dismissed. |
| Average (bowling) | Runs conceded divided by wickets taken. |
| Bails | The two small pieces of wood resting on top of the stumps. |
| Bouncer | A short-pitched delivery that rises towards the batter’s upper body or head. |
| Boundary | The edge of the playing area, or the four or six runs scored by reaching it. |
| Bowled | A dismissal in which the delivery hits the stumps and removes a bail. |
| Bye | A run scored when the ball passes the batter and wicketkeeper without being touched. |
| Caught | A dismissal when a fielder catches the ball before it bounces after the batter hits it. |
| Century | A score of 100 or more runs by one batter in an innings. |
| Crease | The marked lines on the pitch that define where batters and bowlers must be. |
| Declaration | When a captain ends their team’s innings voluntarily, mainly in Test and first-class cricket. |
| Dot ball | A delivery from which no run is scored. |
| Duck | A dismissal without scoring; a golden duck is out on the first ball faced. |
| Economy rate | Runs a bowler concedes per over. |
| Extras | Runs not scored off the bat: wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes. |
| Fifer | A bowler taking five wickets in an innings. |
| Follow-on | When a team batting second trails by a large margin and is asked to bat again immediately. |
| Free hit | A delivery after a no-ball for overstepping, on which the batter can be out only in limited ways. |
| Googly | A leg-spinner’s delivery that turns the opposite way from a normal leg-break. |
| Innings | A team’s turn to bat, or an individual batter’s time at the crease. |
| Leg bye | A run scored after the ball hits the batter’s body but not the bat. |
| LBW | Leg before wicket, a dismissal when the ball hits the batter and would have hit the stumps. |
| Maiden | An over in which no runs are scored off the bat. |
| No-ball | An illegal delivery, such as overstepping, that gives the batting side an extra run. |
| Not out | A batter who has not been dismissed when the innings ends. |
| Over | Six legal deliveries bowled by one bowler. |
| Partnership | The runs added between two batters while they bat together. |
| Pitch | The strip in the centre of the ground, 22 yards long, where most of the action takes place. |
| Powerplay | A period in limited-overs cricket when fielding restrictions apply. |
| Run out | A dismissal when the fielding side breaks the wicket before a batter reaches the crease. |
| Session | A period of play in a Test between breaks, typically the morning, afternoon or evening. |
| Stumped | A dismissal when the wicketkeeper breaks the wicket while the batter is out of the crease. |
| Stumps | The three vertical wooden posts forming the wicket. |
| Super Over | A one-over-per-side tie-breaker used in many limited-overs matches. |
| Third umpire | The off-field official who reviews close decisions using video replay. |
| Toss | The coin flip to decide who bats or bowls first. |
| Wicket | The stumps and bails, or the dismissal of a batter. |
| Wide | A delivery too far from the batter to be hit, which concedes a penalty run. |
| Yorker | A delivery that pitches at the batter’s feet. |
How to use the glossary
Many of these terms appear together in match reports. For example, a report may say a batter made a half-century in a partnership of 80 before being caught off a slower ball. Using the glossary, you can break that down: a half-century is 50 runs, a partnership is the runs added with another batter, and caught describes the dismissal.
Terms that vary by context
Some words change in meaning depending on the format. A session, for instance, applies mainly to Test cricket, where play is divided into three periods of about two hours each. A declaration is almost never used in limited-overs cricket, where innings end after a fixed number of overs. Powerplay refers to fielding restrictions in T20 and ODIs but has no equivalent in Tests.
There is also regional slang, such as ‘nurdle’ for a small, unhurried run or ‘death overs’ for the closing overs of a limited-overs innings. These informal terms are common in broadcast commentary but do not appear in the Laws of Cricket.
Where to go next
Once you are comfortable with the words, try reading a full scorecard and a match preview. You will find that the terms in this glossary appear repeatedly, and they quickly become second nature. The Laws of Cricket, published by the MCC, are the definitive source for formal definitions, and ICC playing conditions provide additional rules for international matches.
Frequently asked questions
What is a duck in cricket?
A duck is when a batter is dismissed without scoring a run. A golden duck is a dismissal on the first ball faced.
What is the difference between a wide and a no-ball?
A wide is a delivery too far from the batter to be played, while a no-ball is an illegal delivery, for example because the bowler overstepped. Both give the batting team an extra run.
What is a century?
A century is a score of 100 or more runs by a single batter in one innings.