A quick reference for terms you'll hear on TV, at the ground, or in RetroCric articles.
Batting
Crease — The white lines where batters stand. The popping crease is where the batter must ground their bat to be safe from a stumping or run-out.
Shot — Any stroke played at the ball: drive, cut, pull, sweep, hook, and dozens more.
Slog — A powerful, high-risk shot, usually across the line. Common in the final overs of a limited-overs innings.
Duck — Out for zero runs. A golden duck is out first ball.
Century — 100 runs by one batter in a single innings.
Partnership — Runs scored while two specific batters are at the crease together.
Bowling
Pace / fast bowling — Delivering the ball at high speed, usually 130–150+ km/h at international level.
Spin bowling — Slow bowling that turns off the pitch. Off-spin turns into a right-handed batter; leg-spin turns away.
Googly — A leg-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way to normal, deceiving the batter. Shane Warne's stock ball made this famous.
Yorker — A full delivery aimed at the batter's feet, hard to hit and often bowled at the death of a T20 innings.
Bouncer — A short-pitched ball rising toward the batter's body or head. Legitimate but restricted — too many can trigger a wide or no-ball call.
Swing bowling — Movement of the ball through the air. Conventional swing moves toward the shiny side; reverse swing moves the other way, often late and at high pace. See The Rise of Swing Bowling.
Seam bowling — Movement off the pitch using the upright seam rather than air swing.
Fielding Positions
Slip — Catcher standing close behind the batter on the off side. First slip, second slip, and so on form a cordon.
Gully — Between slips and point; catches edges that fly wider.
Silly mid-on / silly mid-off — Close fielders on either side of the pitch. "Silly" because they're dangerously close to a hard-hit ball.
Point / cover / mid-off / mid-on — Positions on the off side and on side of the field, at varying distances.
Third man / fine leg — Deep positions behind the batter on each side; stop boundaries from edges.
Long-on / long-off — Deep fielders straight down the ground.
Match Situations
Innings — A team's turn to bat (or one batter's time at the crease, depending on context).
Declaration — A captain ends their innings voluntarily in a Test match, usually to have time to bowl the opposition out.
Follow-on — Forcing the trailing team to bat again immediately in a Test.
Powerplay — Overs with fielding restrictions in limited-overs cricket.
Death overs — The final overs of a T20 or ODI innings, when batters attack and yorkers fly.
Super over — A tie-breaker: each team faces one over. Used in some knockout matches.
Umpiring & Decisions
LBW — Leg before wicket. The umpire judges whether the ball would have hit the stumps if it hadn't struck the batter's body first.
DRS — Decision Review System. Teams can challenge umpire calls using ball-tracking and replays (limited reviews per innings).
Snickometer / UltraEdge — Technology that detects faint edges to the bat.
Commentary Favourites
Pair of spectacles — Two ducks in one match (or two batters out for zero in quick succession).
Nervous nineties — The tense period when a batter approaches a century (90–99 runs).
Pie chucker — Slang for a bowler considered easy to hit (not complimentary).
Permissive field — A spread-out field, usually to protect boundaries when a batter is attacking.
Spin Era Greats
If glossary entries like googly and doosra spark your curiosity, read about the bowlers who defined an era in When Spin Ruled the World.
Still Learning?
Work through the fundamentals in order: