Glossary of Cricket Terms


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Nelson 1. n. a score of 111 runs, either by a single batsman or the total for the side.

Net 1. n. a practice area for batting and bowling, consisting of a pitch closely surrounded by netting to restrict the ball from travelling too far.
2. n. a session of practice in a net. The batsman need to have a net to hone his skills.

New Ball 1. n. a new cricket ball, never previously used in a cricket match.
2. n. a new cricket ball taken by the captain of the fielding side at a specific time during an innings to replace the old ball currently being used.
3. adj. describing a bowler who generally bowls with the new ball in an innings. He is their new ball bowler.
4. adj. describing a batsman in the context of facing a new ball. He is a good new ball batsman.

Nick 1. n. a small deflection of the cricket ball off the edge of the striker's bat, usually not deviating much from the ball's trajectory, and often to the wicket-keeper for a catch; a snick.
2. v.t. to hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a very fine deflection. The batsman nicked the ball to the keeper.

Nightwatchman 1. n. a batsman sent in to bat above his normal batting position at the fall of a wicket a short time before the end of a day's play, as a tactic to protect better batsmen from having to begin their innings just before the end of play and then have to begin again the next day.

No Ball 1. n. a ball delivered by the bowler in violation of any of several rule regarding the positions of his feet with respect to the creases, the action of his arm, or the trajectory of the ball.
2. n. an extra run credited to the batting side when a bowler bowls a no ball(1).
3. n. the arm signal of an umpire used to signal a no ball, with one arm outstretched horizontally. 4. v.i. (of a bowler) to bowl a no ball. 5. v.t. (of an umpire) to call and signal a bowler for bowling a no ball.

No Result 1. n. the result of a one-day match in which one or both sides did not complete their innings or face a predetermined minimum number of overs, because of weather or other interruptions. cf. draw.

Non-Striker 1. n. the batsman whose position is currently at the end of the pitch where the bowler will deliver the ball to the other batsman; he may not hit the ball.

Not Out 1. adj. the state (of a batsman) of not having been dismissed by the fielding side in the innings in question.

Number 1. n. used in combination with a number to indicate a batsman's position in the batting order. He is a number three batsman.

Number Eleven 1. n. the eleventh position in the batting order.
2. n. the worst batsman in a cricket side, so called because he bats in the number eleven position.
3. n. a very poor batsman.

Nut 1. n. colloquial term for cricket ball.


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