Can't tell a short leg from a silly point? Worried your lbw is too far up your sticky wicket? Seamer giving up too many leg-byes?

All the weird and wonderful cricket words and phrases explained -- read on!

The World of Cricket

As with any discipline, there are concepts specific to cricket that require particular terms unique to the game. Various actions, scores and positions are all associated with words that to the untrained ear sound bonkers. But it's the same in any discipline - a recipe might require you to baste a chicken, and a musician might get caught out by an unexpected accidental in the score. It's just a case of knowing that ordinary features of the game have names you don't yet know. Until now.

Let's start with the basics...

The Aim of the Game

There are two teams in cricket. One team is bowling (like pitching) and fielding while the other has two batters on the field. As the fielding/bowling team bowls, it's up to the batting team to score runs. Then they swap around, so that both teams have had a chance to score as many runs as they can. Whoever scores the most runs wins!

Innings: An innings is one team's turn at batting, or one player's turn at batting, or one fielding/bowling team's turn at fielding/bowling. For example: "England scored 413 runs in their first innings." "Jim had a terrible innings, only scoring 3." "They have had a torrid innings in the field."

There are many ways a batter can be out, and when they are out, another batter takes their place. Some formats of cricket end an innings when a certain number of balls have been bowled, and some formats continue until all-but-one of the batters are out, leaving one on their own: an unviable state to continue.

All Out: When a team has had 10 of their players dismissed (out). Ironically, it's 10 out of 11, so it's not all out, but the innings can't continue with only one batter still playing.

The pitch is made up of the outfield, which is the main part of the field, and the wicket, which is where the batting and bowling happens. (There are multiple meanings for the word wicket, so keep track!) The wicket is sometimes known as the batting track. In certain formats, there is a circle, imaginary or marked, 10m from the wicket, which sometimes a limited number of fielders are allowed beyond, if there are fielding restrictions.

On the wicket there are two wickets (there we are: our second meaning) - three parallel knee-height narrow poles, known as stumps, with bails resting on top. These are 22 yards apart, and are opposite each other. Just in front of the wicket at each end is a line behind which the bowler must bowl, it is the crease. At the opposite end, the batter is also stood at the opposite crease.

Stump: a single knee-high narrow pole

Bails: light wooden (or plastic) rolls of wood balanced on the stumps

Wicket: the whole assembly of stumps and bails

When a right-handed batter is batting, they usually stand with their left side slightly (or greatly) facing the bowler. They are facing the off-side of the field. Behind them is the leg-side. When a left-handed batter is batting, it is the opposite. The off-side and leg-side is relative to the handedness of the batter. The stump nearest the off-side is the off-stump, and the stump nearest the leg-side is the leg-stump, and the middle stump is called the middle stump.

The innings is divided into blocks of 6 balls bowled called an over. In one over, one bowler bowls from one end to the other, regardless of whether the batters run and swap ends or not. With there always being two batters at all times, there is always someone occupying the batting end. At the end of an over, a different bowler must bowl from the opposite end.

Limited Overs: A match where each team gets one innings, limited to a certain number of overs - 10, 20, 40 or 50 in the most common formats.

While Ball: Typically, limited overs matches are played with a white ball, while 4- or 5-day matches are played with a red ball. White-Ball cricket refers to limited overs cricket, usually 20-overs and 50-overs-per-match cricket.

T20: A twenty-overs-per-side match

ODI: One-day International. A 50-overs-per-side match contested by two international sides.

Test Match: An international match not limited by overs, but by a 5-day limit. 2 innings-per-side.

Bowling

Usually bowlers are identified according to three categories, although there surely is blur between them: fast, medium-pace, and spin. A fast bowler may rely not just on pace, but also on movement through the air, swinging the ball before it reaches the batter. They may also get unpredictable bounce as they land the ball on the seam of the ball.

Swing-bowler: A fast bowler (or a medium-pace bowler), who can get the ball to curve through the air

Seamer: A fast bowler who lands the ball on the seam of the ball

Reverse-swing: When the ball swings in the opposite direction to the usual direction a left-handed or right-handed bowler would be expected to achieve.

Bouncer: When a fast bowler bowls an aggressive delivery that bounces and arrives around chest/chin height to the batter

Fast-medium; medium-fast: Different categories of fast bowlers

A medium-pace bowler simply bowls slower than a fast bowler, but may also execute seam or swing. Sometimes, their attempts at swing are unpredictable, or the small amount they do achieve makes life difficult for the batter.

Wibbly-wobblies / Dibbly-dobblies: An endearing term for a medium-pacer's deliveries, acknowledging that they may actually be unpredictable for the batter

A spin bowler is rarely categorised according to how slow they bowl. The terms around spin bowling tend to mean the direction of spin, and the handedness and action of the bowler.

Wrist-spin: The bowler achieves a sharp spin on the ball using a wrist flick action

Finger-spin: The bowler achieves a sharp spin on the ball using their fingers

Off-spin: A delivery where the ball spins towards the batter's off-side upon bouncing. This equates to leg-spin for the opposite-handed batter.

Leg-spin: A delivery where the ball spins towards the batter's leg-side upon bouncing. This is off-spin of the opposite-handed batter.

These latter two terms are therefore relative to whether we are talking about a right-handed batter or left-handed batter

There are all kinds of variations. A left-handed finger-spinner might naturally produce off-spin for a right-handed batter. But they may have a variation which unexpectedly produces leg-spin for the right-handed batter. Names for these variations include: Googly, carrom-ball, top-spin, wrong 'un, doosra. Because the natural action of a left-handed spinner tends to a certain type of spin, then the unexpected spin has a name. This means that a right-handed spinner cannot bowl that variation, because it is not an unexpected delivery for them.

Full-length: When a ball bounces within a one-step reach of the batter

Good length: When a ball bounces just outside a one-step reach of the batter

Short length: When a ball bounces some distance in front of the batter, usually rising up towards the batter's midriff/chest/shoulders

No-ball: When the bowler oversteps the crease. The ball is a foul ball and an additional run is added to the batting score. A no-ball is also called when the ball arrives at the batter above waist height without bouncing first, or above head-height after bouncing.

Beamer: A no-ball which arrives above waist height without bouncing

Wide: When the ball passes the batter too far laterally on the off-side or leg-side. The tolerance is greater on the off-side, as the batter is facing that direction. In shorter formats, usually any ball that passes on the batter's leg-side is a wide.

Wicket: When a bowler's delivery results in the dismissal of a batter. In this article, this is the third meaning of 'wicket': (1) the batting/bowling area of the pitch; (2) the assembled stumps & bails; (3) a dismissal.

Five-for: When a bowler takes five wickets in one innings. Sometimes the phrase four-for is used, or six-for, seven-for, etc. although it is rare that a bowler takes more than five wickets, and five is the standard benchmark achievement that is celebrated.

Bodyline: A strategy relating to an infamous aggressive tactic in a historic match where the bowling utilised fast bouncers to the batter's body, causing pain and occasionally injury. The bowling wasn't conducive to batting, but yielded lots of close-catching opportunities, so all the fielders were crowded close to the batter, who, using their bat to defend themselves, risked giving up a short catch. Similar tactics aren't rife today, but may be used in short spells in a match.

Batting

As there is variation in bowling method, so there are a range of shots available to the batter, and a range of ways of describing what the outcome of the shot is.

Leave: When the batter leaves the ball

Good leave: When the bowler's delivery was good, perhaps luring the batter into a poorly-executed shot, but the batter makes a shrewd decision to opt to leave this particular ball

False shot: When the batter is lured into making a poorly-judged shot, but fails to make contact with the ball

Feathered edge: When the ball gently and subtly makes a 'feathered' touch on the edge of the bat as it passes. As this is contact between bat and ball, it counts as a shot, and if caught, the batter is out.

Thick edge: Like a feathered edge, but the ball takes a noticeable and marked deflection off the bat

Inside edge / Bottom edge: When the ball skims the edge of the bat closest to the batter. It's a bottom edge if the bat is held parallel(ish) to the ground so that the edge the ball touches is better described as 'bottom' rather than inside

Chopped on: When the batter aims to play a shot which ricochets off the inside edge and onto the stumps

Played on: When the batter aims to play a conservative shot but fails to read the ball, which hits the stumps

Bat-pad: When the ball takes an edge off the bat, but immediately cannons into the shin pad of the batter. It's significant in cases where there is an lbw appeal (see later), or an appeal for a close catch.

Front foot shot: A shot where the batter has stepped forward into the shot

Back foot shot: A shot where the batter has moved their weight onto their back foot to make the shot, or taken a small backward step

Cover drive: A front-foot shot to the area of the outfield known as cover (see later)

Off drive: A shot into anywhere in the field on the off side

Pull shot / Hoot shot: A shot across the body to 'hook' the ball towards the leg side, usually around waist-midriff height

Sweep: A shot across the body to hook, or sweep, the ball towards the leg side, but low down, around ankle-height. Usually the batter goes onto one knee to execute the shot, as if they're using the bat to 'sweep' the ball away

Reverse sweep: Identical to a sweep shot, but where, immediately before executing the shot, the batter quickly changes stance to the opposite handedness. The right-hander plays a left-handed sweep shot; the left-hander plays a right-handed sweep shot

Slog sweep: A sweep shot where the batter 'sweeps' the ball from low down, across the body onto the leg side, but usually with a good deal of height and distance

Helicopter shot / Flamingo shot: Usually a spectacular shot, hooking the ball onto the leg side, but when the ball is waist height or higher, pirouetting on one foot to gain momentum for the high hook motion. The batter might momentarily hold their pose on one leg, or with the bat elevated at shoulder/head height

Slog: A powerful shot with height and distance. The brute force is sometimes appreciated, or sometimes considered a lack of technique. For example, "What a shot. He slogged it all the way" / "Poor shot. Not so much technique, more of a slog, really."

Scoop: Similar to a sweep: the batter is on one knee, but rather than sweeping the shot across the body, they scoop the ball over their shoulder. Sometimes called a 'Dilscoop' after Tilakaratne Dilshan, one of the earliest and most prominent exponents of the shot

Ramp shot: Similar to a scoop, but rather than actively scooping a low delivery, the batter uses the pace and height of the delivery, and uses the bat to 'ramp' the ball over their shoulder

Long hop: A poorly-executed slog that usually is caught by a fielder beyond the circle in the outfield

Cut shot: A back-foot off side shot where the batter deftly directs the ball backwards of square (see later). A square cut is a shot that goes perpendicular to the wicket-to-wicket direction, on the off side

Scoring

Although there are a number of key terms to know here, they tend to be straightforward concepts.

Four: Four runs are awarded when the ball crosses (or hits) the boundary (outer edge of the field), with the ball having touched the ground after hitting the bat.

Six: Six runs are awarded when the ball crosses the boundary, with the ball having not touched the ground after hitting the bat.

Century: When a batter scores 100 runs in an innings

Half-Century: When a batter scores 50 runs in an innings

Double / Triple Century: When a batter scores 200 / 300 runs in an innings

Run: A run is awarded when the batter hits the ball and completes a run from their own crease to the opposite crease. Their partner batter has to complete a run in the opposite direction at the same time. A single complete run is known as a single. If there is time, they may turn and complete a second, or even third, or fourth or fifth run.

Bye: A run is awarded but classed as a bye, and not counted towards a batter's total when the batters complete a run without having hit the ball

Leg-bye: Similar to a bye, but when the ball has hit the batter's leg, or other body part. If, however, this prevented the batter from being bowled, they should be dismissed lbw. But if the ball wasn't going to hit the stumps, then a leg-bye is awarded is the run is completed.

Extras: The collective name for runs that aren't attributed to a batter's score: no-balls, wides, byes and leg-byes

Dot ball: A legal delivery that results in no run

Not out: When a batter reaches the end of the team innings, either as the last remaining batter, reaching the end of the innings over limit, as one of the two batters at the point of declaration, or as one of the two batters when a team reaches their target to win a match. That is, if a team is all out, there is, nevertheless, one batter who is not out. If the match is a 50-over-per-side match, and a team reaches the end of 50 overs, then both remaining batters are not out, if a team declares, then any batter who has taken to the field and not dismissed at the time of declaration is not out. If a team needs 200 to outscore the opposition, then both batters who are batting when the score reaches 201 end the innings and are not out.

*: A * next to a batter's name on a scorecard means not out. For example AJ Costa 56*

Carry one's bat: A batter has carried their bat when they are an opener and have reached the end of the team innings without being dismissed. They have been batting throughout the entire team innings. This is much more possible in limited overs matches, especially in 5- or 10-overs-per-side matches. This is very rare in longer format matches (e.g. 5-day test matches), as it requires one batter to remain unbeaten on a pitch and in conditions that claim the wickets of all 10 of their teammates.

Dead Ball: Certain actions are relevant only to the action of bowling, batting or fielding. In between these actions, the ball is not active and is called a dead ball. For example, if, when aiming to complete a run, a batter uses their hand to handle the ball, it is obstructing the field. However, in a different scenario, if they complete the run by diving, but the ball has ended up on the ground beneath their knee, the whole act is complete and it is a dead ball. It is not a bowling action, batting action, nor fielding action, as the batter is safe. Therefore it is legal for the batter to handle the ball in order to return it to the fielder. Similarly, if the ball is hit into the outfield, only to be fielded by an intruder, who throws the ball beyond the boundary, the score of 4 runs is not awarded. The moment the intruder touches the ball, it is a dead ball. Therefore, in the act of accosting the intruder, a batter cannot be run out for not being in their ground. It is a dead ball situation - it is not a live fielding situation.

In The Field

There is a name for virtually any fielding position in cricket, and this is a big area of jargon! It is helpful to understand three key categories of terms when referring to a field position:

Off / Leg Side: See above - the off side is the half of the field that the batter is facing when stood side-on to the bowler, holding the bat. The leg side - also known as on side is the side behind the batter when stood side-on to the bowler, holding the bat. This designation splits the field into two, so positions that have "off" in the name are on the off side, positions that have "leg" or "on" in the name are on the leg side.

Short / Long/Deep: When a fielder is placed near to the batter, within the circle, or even closer, they are in a short position. When a fielder is further out they are in a long or deep position.

Square / Backward square / Forward square: Square of the wicket means along an imaginary line perpendicular to the wicket-to-wicket strip (i.e the direction of bowling), level with the batter's crease. Square is directly level with the batter on the off side or leg side. Backward of square is behind the batter's wicket (i.e. in the direction the ball is bowled). Forward of square is anything in the direction from the batter towards the bowler.

A number of fielding positions utilise these terms to describe where someone is stood. Some fielding positions have names already, some are just described by these terms above. Imagine a circle/oval. A right-handed batter is stood in the middle. The half of the circle/oval they are facing when stood side on to the bowler is the off side. Let's start square of the wicket on the off side...

Point: Point is square of the wicket on the off side. Deep point is the fielding position back at the outer edge (boundary) of the field. Point is halfway in. Backward point is point, but slightly backward of square. Forward point is point, but slightly forward of square. Deep backward point and deep forward point are the deep counterparts to the ordinary positions. Silly point is extremely short point.

Cover: Cover is the direction further forward than point. In between cover and point is cover point. Further forward, and straighter, than cover, is extra cover. Short cover, deep cover, short cover point, deep cover point, short extra cover, and deep extra cover are the corresponding positions.

More straight, towards the bowler is mid off, and straight off. These are positions just about on the off side, if the batter hits the ball back towards the bowler, but on the off side. The deep/long counterpart of mid off is long off, the short counterpart is short mid off. Straight off is a deep position, on the boundary. Very very close to the batter is silly mid off, almost on the batting strip.

The corresponding positions on the leg side are straight on, deep mid on, mid on, short mid on. Imagine the batter hits the ball straight back at the bowler, but slightly towards the leg side. Corresponding to silly mid off is silly mid on on the leg side.

Then, moving back towards square on the leg side is deep midwicket, midwicket, short midwicket. These are the leg-side counterparts to the cover positions.

Then, forward square leg, square leg, backward square leg, along with deep forward square leg, deep square leg, and deep backward square leg, and also short forward square leg, short square leg, and short backward square leg. An even closer square leg position is short leg, which is a few steps from the batter on the leg side, corresponding to silly point.

At some point around the circle, backward square leg becomes fine leg - as if the ball has been glanced down the leg side with a very finely hit shot. There is short fine leg and deep fine leg. Even finer and deeper is long leg. This is not far from straight behind the batter, in line with the bowler.

Keep going round the circle and we're back to the off side, but behind square. Here is third, or third man - along with deep third man and short third man. In this region, close catchers are placed to catch edges. These are called the slips. Directly behind the stumps is the wicketkeeper, then first slip, second slip, etc., up to fourth slip, then gully is close-ish, towards short backward point. Two or three or four slips together are known as the slip cordon. The slips are on the off side, but a slip can be placed on the leg side, called the leg slip. Slightly further back, usually operating instead of a normal slip cordon, a lone fly slip can be placed.

Dismissals

A batter can be out - dismissed - in several ways.

Bowled: When the ball hits the stumps on the bowler's delivery, the mode of dismissal is bowled. It leads to a strange phrase that the "batter has been bowled"! We would also say that the bowler has bowled the batter. A batter is bowled even if the ball has deflected onto the stumps via a foot, leg, arm, helmet, or bat. It is a requirement that the bails be dislodged for a batter to be bowled. There have been a number of occasions, some high-profile, where the ball has skimmed the stumps, only to negligibly disrupt the bails, without dislodging and removing them. The batter is lucky to have survived.

LBW: Leg Before Wicket: If the batter would have been bowled if it were not for the illegal intervention of their own leg getting in the way. However, if the ball has hit the bat first, there cannot be an lbw. This relies on a degree of speculation as to the trajectory of the ball as it hit the leg - was it on course to hit the stumps? The umpire must make that decision.

Caught: When the batter hits the ball, and the ball is caught before it hits the ground. A thin/feathered edge counts as a 'hit' and batters are often caught off an edge.

Hit wicket: When the batter themselves dislodges the bails with any part of their body

Stumped: There is no requirement for the batter to stand at their own crease. They may stand behind it (risking the possibility of hit wicket), or further forward. A batter is stumped if, having missed the ball, the ball is caught and the bails dislodged by a fielder (usually wicketkeeper) while the batter is completely further forward than the crease. A batter usually leaves a foot grounded behind the crease, and where this is not the case, they are at risk of being stumped.

Run out: Whether or not the batter hits the ball, they are entitled to run from one wicket to the other, with their counterpart/partner batter running in the opposite direction. If the fielder uses the ball to dislodge the bails on the stumps, either with the ball in hand, or by aiming a throw, before the batter reaches the opposite crease, the batter is run out. If there is a mix-up, and neither batter is running to reach a crease in a moment of confusion, the batter who is run out is the batter closest to the wicket which is broken (i.e. bails dislodged).

Obstructing the field: If a batter has the opportunity to disrupt the fielder's attempts at a run out, perhaps by obstructing a fielder, or by batting the ball away, this is illegal, and no matter what the outcome of the fielding action, the batter is dismissed. Usually this must be considered deliberate. In the World Cup Final in 2019, England batter Ben Stokes famously diverted the ball away for further runs during New Zealand's fielding action. In some cases, this might have been considered obstruction of the field, leading to his dismissal. On this occasion, it was deemed to be accidental, Stokes survived, runs were added which directly led to a tied game, which England went on to win by the narrowest of margins.

Hit twice: It is illegal to hit the ball twice with the bat in the batting action, for example, once to stop the ball, and once to hit it away. This is a rare mode of dismissal.

Timed out: After one batter is dismissed, there are usually rules that dictate the next batter must arrive at the crease in a certain amount of time. If they are late, they are out before they have even played!

Terms are also given to the circumstances of the batter at their dismissal - they are not modes of dismissal, but just descriptions of the batter's plight.

Duck: Having scored a duck means having scored no runs as an individual batter. Being out for a duck means being dismissed without scoring.

Golden duck: When a batter is not only dismissed for a duck, but on their first delivery.

Platinum duck: When a batter is dismissed for a duck without having even faced a ball. This occurs when a new batter comes in, but at the non-striker's end (where the bowler is not bowling to). This happens when a batter is dismissed at the end of an over, at which point the new bowler bowls from the opposite end, and the new batter is not facing the bowling. The dismissal cannot be related to the delivery (e.g. bowled, lbw), but to the fielding action (e.g. run out, obstructing the field).

Pair: In a match where both teams have two innings, a player is dismissed for a pair when they are dismissed for a duck in both innings. When they have been dismissed for a duck in the first innings, then they arrive in the second innings on a pair - that is, eligible for a pair - until they have scored.

King Pair: When a player is dismissed for a golden duck in both innings of a two-innings-per-side match

Soft dismissal: When a player is dismissed, usually caught, playing a shot poorly that they ordinarily would have executed better, or shown better judgement in shot choice. In other words, they should have done better.

The Score

The way the latest score, and final score of a cricket match is expressed can be confusing. The winner is the team with most runs, yet the score is often expressed in a way that includes how many wickets were lost (dismissals) along the way. This doesn't impact the actual result, but is included to give a measure of how close the game was/is.

First comes the number of runs, then the number of wickets lost to get there. For example, a team who is currently on 314/3 has scored 314 runs, and has lost 3 wickets, out of ten. (In Australia, the convention is to reverse the format: 3/314) In a limited-overs match, the number of wickets may be less relevant. In a 50-over-per-side match, a more pertinent bit of data is how many overs have elapsed. A team may be 314/3 (49), which means 49 of the 50 overs have elapsed. This means that the fact that only 3 wickets have been lost is largely irrelevant, because the team have only six balls left to face, and losing wickets will not be a limiting factor. However, to be 27/7 (9) is a concern - 7 wickets have been lost, and although there remains 41 overs, the innings will come to a close prematurely if those final 3 wickets fall. In a non-limited-overs match, the innings ends when the batting team is all out or have declared. In which case, the number of overs is less relevant, and the score of 314/3 indicates that there is plenty of batting to come, and perhaps the batting team have hope of scoring more than double their current tally.

A team may decide that they have enough runs in this innings and would prefer to be bowling at the opposition so they voluntarily end their innings. This is called a declaration, and is shown as 314/3dec. Environmental/circumstantial factors are largely behind declarations - for example, although a non-limited-overs match is not limited by the number of overs, it is limited by the number of days it lasts. If a team bats non-stop for 2 days in a 4-day match, will they leave enough time to bowl out the opposition, bat again, and bowl the opposition out again? A team may also declare when they are 8 or 9 wickets down and don't expect to accrue many more runs, but the conditions are hard to bat in. To declare now will expose the opposition's best batters to difficult conditions, and the value of bowling to, and dismissing, the opposition's best players may outweigh the scant runs available at the tail end of this innings.

When a team bats first and subsequently end up outscoring their opponents, they are said to have won by x runs - however many more runs they scored than their opponents. However, when a team bats second and outscores their opponents, they need only outscore them by one run to seal the victory, therefore their winning margin of one run can seem slim. In this case, they are said to have won by x wickets - however many wickets remain out of the ten dismissals possible. This is an indication of the potential of more runs. A team who has won by 10 wickets has outscored their opponents without losing a single wicket. A team who has won by 9 wickets has similarly won comfortably. A team who has won by 1 wicket has actually been just one wicket away from losing, or tying the match.

Draw: in a non-limited-overs match, the match is a draw when the time limit (e.g. 4 days) expires, but both teams have not yet completed 2 innings.

Tie: both teams have completed all their innings and the number of runs each is equal

Unfortunately, cricket is a game that is affected by the weather, and from time to time a match has to be curtailed due to rain or bad light. One team may have completed their innings of 50 overs, but the second team may have their innings curtailed by rain to just 30 overs. Luckily, a result is still possible, as their respective scores can be compared.

D/L Method / DLS Method: D/L refers to Duckworth-Lewis, the names of the mathematicians who worked out how to compare a team's 30 over total with another team's 50 over total. A basic comparison would compare the average number of runs per over - Team A scored 450 in 50 overs, at 9 runs per over, while Team B scored 300 in 30 overs at 10 runs per over, hence Team B wins. However, in the real-life situations of a cricket match, it's never that simple. Suppose Team B, who scored at 10 runs per over were 9 wickets down, therefore down to their worst batter, and potentially one ball away from the end of their innings. They would never last to 50 overs even if the game hadn't been curtailed! They (probably) wouldn't be able to surpass the 450 mark even given their full allocation. So number of wickets lost does affect the likelihood of a team to be able to outscore their opponent, regardless of run-rate. Mr Duckworth and Mr Lewis calculated a matrix that took that into account, and said that if Team A scored 450 in 50 overs at 9 runs per over, then Team B would need to reach 274 in 30 overs, but if the game was further curtailed to 29 overs, must be either at 273/9, or 272/8, but if only 1 wicket down, then 268/1 would suffice after 29 overs. Likewise, if the game was curtailed to 28 overs, a lower target would suffice if they'd lost only a few wickets, but a higher target was needed if 8 or 9 wickets down.

DLS stands for Duckworth-Lewis-Stern, because Mr Stern added a further factor into these calculations - that a team bat most efficiently in accordance with the number of overs they have, but if their innings was unexpectedly curtailed due to rain, they could have scored more quickly had they have known. That is, Team A's score at 10 overs may be 50-1 if they expected to have time to bat all 50 overs. But had they known about the curtailment, they may have taken more risks and scored more quickly and reached 77-3 by 10 overs. Hence, Team B - who know they must only bat 10 overs, are required to score 78 to win in 10 overs, even though Team A scored 50.

So a result, or a target, that you see that has DLS next to it means that the winning target has been revised somewhere along the line to account for a shortened match. In these cases, you may find that the maths of the winning score doesn't quite add up: as per the example above - why were Team B required to score 78 when Team A only scored 50? DLS is your answer - it was rain-affected and had a revised target based on wickets and how much was known by each team about the length of their innings.

Player Roles

Some of the jargon in cricket refers to the role of a player in the team:

Opener: Two batters are the first to bat in the innings

Tailender: Batters who bat last in the innings. In cricket, there are 11 players on each side, some who are specialist bowlers, and some who are specialist batters, yet all may be required to bat. Those who are specialist bowlers usually bat last. Those who are specialist bowlers and are known for being poor batters are considered tailenders, not just the number 11. A team with a large number of specialist bowlers who are known to be poor batters is said to have a long tail - that is, 4 or 5 players who may end up batting, who would not be relied on for their batting skill. Some teams are said to have a short tail - most of their 11 players can bat well, and only perhaps one or two are poor with the bat.

All-rounder: A player who is good at both batting and bowling.

Bowling all-rounder / Batting all-rounder: Sometimes a player has a specialism that they are included because of - a specialist batter, or bowler. But they may actually be half-decent at the other discipline. Sometimes it is hard to know whether to call them an all-rounder, because they are definitely in the side on the merit of one discipline (i.e. batting or bowling), but their contribution in the other is not insignificant. A bowling all-rounder is picked on the merit of their skill as a bowler, but is also a good batter. A batting all-rounder is picked on the merit of their skill as a batter, but may be relied on to bowl occasionally, and, depending on the conditions, may make a significant bowling contribution.

Genuine all-rounder: A player who would be picked on the merit of their skill in either discipline. They bat so well that they would be included even if they could not bowl. They bowl so well that they would be included even if they could not bat.

Night-watchman / Night-watcher: In a game that spans multiple days, in the event of a dismissal late in the day, a new batter is considered vulnerable. Perhaps there is fading light, perhaps the pitch has deteriorated. If the new batter is good, and therefore valuable, a weaker batter can be sent in to bat to play ultra-defensively until the close of play for that day, simply to see off the end of the evening without further drama. This is the night-watcher. They then have license in the morning to play more expansively, knowing that if they lose their wicket, at least they've played an important role. Once they are dismissed, the usual next batter will come in, grateful for easier conditions in which to bat. And - in theory - well placed, as a good batter, to make a telling contribution.

As with a number of these terms, they have originated in men's cricket, and you will hear of a batsman, someone fielding at third man, and the night-watchman. As women can also play cricket, these terms are being replaced by batter, third, and night-watcher.

Anchor: As there are always two batters on the pitch, they might choose to play contrasting roles in terms of their risk-taking. One player might be high-risk, high-reward, accumulating runs quickly, but running the risk of being out cheaply (a low individual score), or getting a decent score quickly. The foil to this type of player is the anchor, whose job is to play conservatively, making sure they don't lose their wicket and spark a collapse (many wickets falling in a short space of time / in a small number of runs). They may score more slowly, but because they take fewer risks, they remain batting for a long period of time, and perhaps add a large individual score.

Rabbit / Bunny: A slightly derogatory term for a batter who is like a rabbit in the headlights when facing bowling. Usually this is the worst batter in the team - although, in their defence, it was likely they were picked as a bowler, and their lack of batting skill is accounted for in the rest of the team selection.

Statistics and Analysis

Cricket is a game which includes a great deal of data in its analysis and report. A person may want to know the score, but also view the scorecard, which is an overview of the score of each batter, and details of each bowler's achievements. Over the course of a number of games, this data may be aggregated and analysed to give further statistical attributes of a batter or bowler. These aren't necessarily niche - it is common to refer to a particular statistical attribute of a batter or bowler.

Strike rate (batter): How many runs they scored per 100 balls. If they scored 4 runs off 10 balls, their strike rate is 40.00. If they scored 60 off 200 balls, their strike rate is 30.00. Usually in a shorter format game (e.g. 10 or 20 overs per side) a successful batter would expect a strike rate comfortably in excess of 100. In a longer format game (e.g. 4 or 5 days), strike rates can vary from as little as 40.00 for a successful batter. It is a mark of a stellar innings when a player has scored a century at a strike rate of over 100.00 in a longer format game. This can be given as a statistic for a given match, or aggregated over a number of matches.

Strike rate (bowler): How many balls it has taken them to take a wicket, on average. A bowler who takes two wickets in 10 overs has a strike rate of 30.00 (as 10 overs is 60 balls). This can be given as a statistic for a given match, or aggregated over a number of matches.

Average (batter): This approximates to the mean number of runs per innings a batsman scores, and is meant roughly as a measure of that. However, it's calculated as the mean number of runs per dismissals a batsman scores, meaning that if they end an innings not out, then, for calculation purposes, the next time they bat is considered a continuation of that unbeaten innings. Hence, a person may have a slightly higher average than might be expected if you were to glance at their scores. Take as an example these six scores: 40, 24, 30*, 22, 21*, 23. This batter has batted in six innings in this series, with a high score of 40, and a low score of 21, but with five of the six innings scores being between 21 and 30. Quickly estimating an average, you'd guess somewhere in the high 20s, perhaps tipping into the 30s. However, notice the asterisks - this batter was not out in two of their innings, so their 30 not out is aggregated to their subsequent 22, and their 21 not out is aggregated to their 23 - meaning that although 40 was their top score, they have twice exceeded 40 in an unbroken spell, albeit over two innings each time. This average is calculated as the sum of each of these six scores, divided not by six, but by four - the number of dismissals. Hence, this player's average is 40 - equivalent to their top score!

Bowling figures: The key details of a bowler's performance is how many runs they conceded off their bowling, and how many wickets they took. These are usually expressed in the opposite order of a team score - that is, while the team has 314/3 (314 runs for the loss of 3 wickets), bowler Worthington as figures of 2-17 (2 wickets taken, 17 runs conceded off their bowling).

In a slightly more detailed scorecard, the figures of each bowler will be shown in their own row on the scorecard, with key stats in 4 columns - Overs, Maidens, Runs, Wickets. A maiden is one over where no runs were scored. We have become used to seeing bowling figures expressed as AJ Watson 12-4-26-2 - with these numbers corresponding to Overs, Maidens, Runs, Wickets. AJ Watson bowled 12 overs, 4 of which were maidens without score. In his 12 overs he did concede 26 runs, but took 2 wickets.

Average (bowler): The number of runs per wicket taken. This can be given in relation to a particular match, but usually is aggregated for a bowler for a particular set of matches. A bowler who has conceded 218 runs this season, but taken 16 wickets at an average of 13.625. When facing this bowler, on average, the opponents couldn't score 14 team runs without losing a wicket. A low bowling average indicates a high-performing bowler, while a high batting average indicates a high-performing batter.

BBI: Best Bowling Innings - this is the best brief bowling figures a bowler has had in an innings. It is equivalent to a Personal Best in athletics. A bowler may one day have done 7-22 - taken 7 wickets and conceded 22 runs. This remains their BBI until they surpass it in one innings in future.

BBM: Best Bowling Match - this relates to matches of two-innings-per-side, as the best bowling figures a bowler has had in one match, aggregated over both innings. The maximum number of wickets a player could take in one innings is 10. The maximum in one match is 20. A player may have a BBM of 12-82 - taking 12 wickets and conceding 82 runs across both innings of one match, perhaps taking 5-40 in the first innings, and following it up with 7-42 in the second. To take more than 10 wickets in a match is rare, to take all 20 is extraordinary.

Stumps

The end of the day's play is known as stumps, which is where we are at in this explainer. I hope by now you can understand when a bouncer takes a thick edge to gully, and why a nightwatcher might stay away from the Dilscoops!

Oh, and a sticky wicket?

It's just a damp pitch.