Glossary of Cricket Terms


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Sandshoe Crusher 1. n. a yorker bowled directly at the batsman's feet, often with inswing.
2. n. a ball that actually hits the batsman on a foot.

Score 1. n. a presentation of how many runs a side has scored and how many wickets it has lost in an innings, expressed in text as either <runs>/<wickets> (in most of the world) or <wickets>/<runs> (in Australia) and spoken as "<runs> for <wickets>" (in most of the world) or "<wickets> for <runs>" (in Australia). The score is 200/4. (spoken "The score is two hundred for four.")
2. n. the number of runs scored by a side in an innings.
3. n. the score(1) or score(2) of each side in each innings so far played in a match.
4. n. the number of runs scored by an individual batsman in one innings.

Scorecard 1. n. a tabular presentation of the most important statistics of an innings or match, including batsmen's scores, how they were dismissed, extras, number of overs bowled, total score, and bowling figures; a card.

Seam 1. n. the stitched equatorial seam of a cricket ball.
2. n. sideways movement of the ball in its trajectory towards the batsman, caused when the ball bounces on the pitch, landing on the seam(1). That ball had some seam on it.
3. v.t. to get the ball to move sideways by getting it to bounce on the pitch, landing on the seam(1). The bowler got movement by seaming the ball.
4. v.i. (of the ball) to move sideways on bouncing because of seam(2). The ball seamed a long way.
5. adj. describing a bowler who uses seam(2) to move the ball. He is a seam bowler.

Seamer 1. n. a bowler who is skilled in or specialises in seaming(3) the ball.

Season 1. n. a period of time over which cricket matches in international tours and domestic competitions are run, generally centred on summer in non-tropical countries, and away from the monsoon season in tropical countries.

Second Innings 1. n. the first innings of the second side to bat in a match; the second of the possibly four innings played by either side in a two-inninngs per side match. cf. first innings, third innings, fourth innings.
2. n. the second innings played by either side in a match, considered separately.
3. n. the second innings played by both sides in a match, considered together.
4. n. the innings of the second side to bat in a one-innings per side match.

Second New Ball 1. n. the new cricket ball used after a specified number of overs to relpace the new ball originally used at the beginning of an innings. cf. first new ball and third new ball.

Second Slip 1. n. the slip fielding position one-removed from the wicket-keeper, just to the off side of first slip. cf. first slip, third slip, fourth slip, fifth slip.

Selector 1. n. an administrator responsible for selecting which players will represent and play for a cricket side.

Series 1. n. a group of matches between two sides, played in close succession, in which the goal is to win more matches than the opposition.

Session 1. n. a period of play in which the players play without leaving the field, except perhaps for a change of innings.

Sheet Anchor 1. n. a batsman who provides solid defence during a long innings, allowing several batting partners in succession to score rapidly or perform the majority of the scoring.

Shine 1. n. the amount of shininess on a cricket ball.
2. v.t. to polish a cricket ball, usually by applying saliva and rubbing it on one's clothing.

Short 1. adv. (of a ball's bounce) to bounce on the pitch relatively close to the bowler, so that the ball bounces high as it passes the batsman, usually above knee height; opposite of full. The bowler pitched the ball short.
2. adj. describing a ball that bounced short(1). The ball was short.
3. adj. describing a location on the field or a fielding position close to the striker, or closer to the striker than a position being compared to. cf. long.

Short Leg 1. n. fielding position on the leg side, square of the striker's wicket and very close to the batsman, a static position designed to catch the ball from a misplaced block or other defensive shot; synonym for bat-pad.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the short leg position.

Short Of A Length 1. adj. (of a ball) pitching short(1) of a good length.

Shot 1. n. the action (of a batsman) of hitting or attempting to hit the ball with his bat; synonym of stroke(1). The batsman played a shot at the ball.

Shoulder Arms 1. v. (of a batsman) to deliberately lift and leave the bat out of the way of the ball, once it has been judged not to be on a path to hit the wicket.

Shy 1. v.i. to throw the ball at a wicket, usually in an attempt to run a batsman out. The fielder shied at the stumps.
2. n. the act of throwing the ball at a wicket in an attempt to run a batsman out. The fielder had a shy at the non-striker's wicket.

Side 1. n. a team of eleven cricket players.

Sightscreen 1. n. a large screen at one end of a cricket field, coloured in a solid colour that contrasts with the ball, to provide good contrast so batsmen can see the ball as it is being bowled.

Silly 1. adj. describing a location on the field or a fielding position very close to the striker, or much closer to the striker than a position being compared to. cf. short.

Silly Mid Off 1. n. fielding position on the off side, forward of the striker's wicket and very close to the batsman, a static position designed to catch the ball from a misplaced block or other defensive shot.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the silly mid off position.

Silly Mid On 1. n. fielding position on the leg side, forward of the striker's wicket and very close to the batsman, a static position designed to catch the ball from a misplaced block or other defensive shot.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the silly mid on position.

Silly Point 1. n. fielding position on the off side, square of the striker's wicket and very close to the batsman, a static position designed to catch the ball from a misplaced block or other defensive shot.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the silly point position.

Single 1. n. one run scored off a single ball, by running between the wickets; synonym of one.

Six 1. n. six runs scored by hitting the ball over the boundary on the full.
2. n. the act of hitting the ball over the boundary on the full.
3. n. six runs scored off a single ball, either by a boundary or by running six runs between the wickets.

Skipper 1. n. the captain of a cricket side.
2. v.i. to act as a captain.
3. v.t. to act as the captain of a side.

Sledge 1. n. a verbal jibe or insult spoken by a player on the field to an opposition player, considered unsportsmanlike and frowned on by cricket governing bodies.
2. v.i. to deliver a sledge(1).
2. v.t. to deliver a sledge(1) to an opposition player. The fielder at short leg sledged the batsman.

Slider 1. n. a type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler which is delivered with a leg break action, but propelled faster, so that it doesn't spin as much off the pitch.

Slip 1. n. fielding position just to the off side of the wicket-keeper's position, a static catching position designed to catch the ball after it hits the edge of the bat and deflects only a small amount. cf. first slip, second slip, third slip, fourth slip, fifth slip.
2. n. a fielder fielding in a slip position.

Slips 1. n. collectively all of the fielders in slip positions.
2. n. the area of the field normally covered by fielders in slip positions. The batsman cut the ball through the slips.

Slog 1. n. a batsman's shot of any sort that is played aggressively with a fast-swung bat, often with less skill than a more considered shot, and often hitting the ball high into the air.
2. v.i. to play a slog shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a slog.

Slog-Sweep 1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by kneeling, often putting the back leg's knee on the pitch, and swinging the bat in a horizontal arc across the body, hitting the ball hard in the air to the leg side, usually played to balls from a slow bowler that pitch near the batsman; a more aggressive form of sweep.
2. v.i. to play a slog-sweep shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a slog-sweep.

Slow Ball 1. n. a ball bowled by a bowler that is significantly slower than his normal deliveries, designed to take the batsman unaware and make him play a mistimed shot.

Slow Bowler 1. n. a bowler specialising in bowling the ball relatively slowly, usually but not always with spin on it, as opposed to a fast bowler.
2. n. a spin bowler.

Snick 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 nick.
2. v.t. to hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a very fine deflection.

Soft Hands 1. n. a batsman's hands, relaxed so as to play the ball with a dead bat.
2. n. a fielder's hands, relaxed so as to catch the ball without it bouncing out of the hands.

Spell 1. n. a series of alternate overs bowled by a single bowler, interrupted only by single overs from other bowlers; also a bowling spell or a spell of bowling.
2. v.t. (of a captain) to relieve a bowler from bowling a spell(1) and allow him to rest while another bowler takes over.

Spin 1. n. rotation of the ball as it flies through the air towards the batsman.
2. n. sideways movement of the ball in its trajectory towards the batsman, caused when the ball bounces on the pitch, by the rotation of the ball. That ball had some spin on it.
3. v.t. to get the ball to move sideways when it bounces on the pitch by giving the ball. The bowler spun the ball away from the batsman.
4. v.i. (of the ball) to move sideways on bouncing because of spin(2). The ball spun a long way.
5. adj. describing a bowler who uses spin(2) to move the ball. He is a spin bowler.
4. adj. describing the style of bowling in which the ball is bowled slowly, using spin(2) to attempt to take wickets. He is proficient at spin bowling.

Spin Bowler 1. n. a bowler specialising in bowling the ball relatively slowly, with spin on it, as opposed to a fast bowler; a spinner.

Spinner 1. n. a bowler who specialises in spinning the ball; a spin bowler. cf. off spinner and leg spinner.

Splice 1. n. the part of a cricket bat where the handle joins the blade.

Split-Finger 1. n. technique of bowling a slower ball by holding the ball between the index and middle fingers, in contrast to using an off break finger action.

Split-Finger Slow Ball 1. n. a slower ball bowled using split-fingers.

Squad 1. n. a group of more than eleven cricket players selected as a pool from which to choose the eleven players and a twelfth man in particular matches.

Square 1. adj. describing a location on the field on or near the line of the striker's popping crease, or nearer to this line than another location being compared to.
2. adj. describing a direction close to this line from the striker's position.
3. n. the central area of a cricket field, encompassing enough area for 5-7 pitches to be laid out adjacent to one another so that different pitches can be used in consecutive matches to allow the grass to recover on recently used pitches.

Square Drive 1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat down in a vertical arc, through the line of the ball, hitting the ball along the ground, in the direction of point. cf. cover drive, off drive, on drive
2. v.i. to play a square drive shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a square drive.

Square Leg 1. n. fielding position on the leg side, square of the striker's wicket, a position designed to either catch the ball from a misplaced pull shot, or to prevent runs from pull shots and defensive strokes square on the leg side; fielding position between leg gully and midwicket.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the square leg position.

Square Leg Umpire 1. n. the umpire who stands near square leg to rule on decisions of stumpings and run outs at the striker's end of the pitch.

Stand 1. n. a partnership(1).
2. n. a partnership(2).

Stand Back 1. v.i. (of a wicket-keeper) to stand a long way behind the striker's wicket so as to catch balls bowled by a fast bowler on their downward trajectory. cf. stand up.

Stand Up 1. v.i. (of a wicket-keeper) to stand immediately behind the striker's wicket so as to catch balls bowled by a slow or spin bowler and potentially stump(2) batsmen out. cf. stand up.

Sticky Wicket 1. n. a pitch containing a lot of moisture, usually from exposure to rain, more commonly encountered historically before pitches were covered in bad weather, and on which the ball bounces unpredictably, making it very difficult to bat.
2. n. any pitch which behaves unpredictably.
3. n. (outside of cricket) any unfair, unpredictable, and sometimes potentially dangerous circumstance.

Stock Ball 1. n. the ball a bowler most usually bowls, such as a leg break for a leg spinner.

Straight 1. adj. describing a location on the field on or near the line running through the length of the pitch through both wickets, or nearer to this line than another location being compared to, usually in front of the striker. cf. fine.
2. adj. describing a direction close to this line from the striker's position.

Straight Bat 1. n. the bat being held vertically and/or being swung in a vertical arc. cf. cross bat.
2. adj. describing the bat being held or swung vertically. He played a straight bat shot at that ball.

Straight Hit 1. n. fielding position near the boundary directly behind the bowler, a position designed to prevent runs from or catch long, lofted straight drives.
2. n. a fielder fielding in the straight hit position.

Strike 1. n. the state of being the batsman at the end of the pitch the bowler is bowling at. That batsman currently has the strike.

Strike Bowler 1. n. a bowler included in a side specifically for his ability to take wickets, as opposed to being economical in terms of conceding runs.

Strike Rate 1. n. a statistic for batsmen equal to the number of runs scored divided by the number of balls taken to score them, multipled by 100; the number of runs a batsman scores on average per 100 balls faced.
2. n. a statistic for bowlers equal to the number of balls bowled divided by the number of wickets taken; the number of balls on average a bowler bowls for each wicket taken.

Striker 1. n. the batsman whose position is currently at the end of the pitch where balls will be bowled to him and he may hit them.

Stroke 1. n. the action (of a batsman) of moving to hit the ball with his bat; synonym of shot. The batsman played a stroke at the ball.
2. v.t. (of a batsman) to hit the ball. The batsman stroked the ball into the covers.

Stump 1. n. one of the three upright wooden posts that, together with a pair of bails, form a wicket.
2. v.t. (of a wicket-keeper) to get a batsman out stumped.

Stumped 1. adj. describing the method of getting out in which the batsman steps out of his crease to play a ball, misses it, and the wicket-keeper collects the ball and breaks his wicket before he returns to his crease. 2. adj. (of a batsman) having been out stumped. 3. v.t. (of a wicket-keeper) to have got a batsman out stumped.

Stumps 1. n. a set of three stumps.
2. n. an entire wicket, including three stumps and two bails.
3. n. the end of a day's play; close of play(1). cf. draw stumps.

Sundries 1. n. plural of sundry; synonym of extras.
2. n. the total of all the sundries scored in an innings.

Sundry 1. n. a run scored without the ball having hit the striker's bat; either a no ball, wide, bye, or leg bye; synonym of extra.

Sweep 1. n. a type of batsman's shot played by kneeling, often putting the back leg's knee on the pitch, and swinging the bat in a horizontal arc across the body, hitting the ball to the leg side, usually played to balls from a slow bowler that pitch near the batsman.
2. v.i. to play a sweep shot.
3. v.t. to hit the ball with a sweep.

Sweeper 1. n. a batsman who is skilled at or frequently plays sweep shots.
2. n. any batsman in the context of playing a sweep shot.
3. n. a field position in the deep outfield near the boundary, designed to cover a lot of territory and prevent runs when the ball is hit into that area, usually either a deep midwicket or deep cover.
4. n. a fielder fielding in a sweeper(3) position.

Swing 1. n. sideways movement of the ball through the air in its trajectory towards the batsman, caused by differential air flow over the surfaces of the ball. That ball had some swing on it.
2. v.t. to get the ball to move sideways through the air using swing(1). The bowler swung the ball a long way.
3. v.i. (of the ball) to move sideways through the air because of swing(1). The ball swung a long way.
4. adj. describing a bowler who uses swing(1) to move the ball. He is a swing bowler.


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