If you have ever watched a cricket match and felt lost when the commentators started talking about "googlies", "silly mid-off" and "the DLS method", this guide is for you. Below you will find 100 essential cricket terms, explained in plain English and organised into five categories: batting, bowling, fielding, match formats, and scoring.
Every definition in this glossary reflects the MCC Laws of Cricket and ICC playing conditions in force as of October 2026 — including the brand-new 4th edition of the Laws. Where a term's meaning has changed recently, we have marked it clearly, so you are never learning outdated cricket.
Quick navigation: Batting Terms · Bowling Terms · Fielding Positions & Actions · Match & Format Terms · Scoring Terms · FAQs
What Changed in Cricket in 2026?
Before the glossary, here is a quick summary of the recent law and rule changes that affect several terms below:
· New MCC Laws (4th edition, in force 1 October 2026): the overthrow is now strictly defined as a throw aimed at the stumps; a simple misfield no longer counts as one. A fielder must have full control of the ball for a run out or stumping to count. Batters who waste time can now concede 5 penalty runs after two warnings. The final over of the day must be bowled in full.
· ODI ball rule (July 2025): two new balls are used only for overs 1–34; from the 35th over, the fielding side picks one ball to use from both ends — bringing reverse swing back into ODIs.
· Stop clock: permanent in white-ball internationals since June 2024 and in Tests since the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle. Teams get 60 seconds between overs; repeated breaches cost 5 penalty runs.
· Concussion substitutes (June 2025): teams must pre-name five substitutes (keeper, batter, seamer, spinner, all-rounder) before the match.
· Boundary catches (2025): the "bunny hop" — jumping from outside the boundary, tossing the ball up mid-air and landing back inside — is now illegal. A fielder whose first contact is from outside the rope must land back inside for the catch to count.
· The "Mankad" (2022): running out the non-striker for backing up too far is now classified as a normal run out, not unfair play. The MCC discourages the old name.
· Saliva (2022): permanently banned for shining the ball. Sweat is still allowed.
A note on language: since 2021 the MCC Laws use the gender-neutral term "batter" instead of "batsman". This glossary follows that standard throughout.
Batting Terms
Century — 100 or more runs scored by a batter in a single innings. Centuries are the classic milestone of batting greatness — in Tests they can take all day to build, while in T20 cricket a century off 40-odd balls is one of the most explosive sights in sport.
Half-century — 50 to 99 runs scored in a single innings. Batters raise their bat to acknowledge the crowd when they reach fifty, and a quick half-century often sets up a team's total in limited-overs cricket.
Duck — a batter dismissed without scoring a run. The term comes from the shape of the zero on the scorecard, which was said to resemble a duck's egg. Getting out for a duck is every batter's nightmare.
Golden duck — dismissed by the very first ball faced, without scoring. There is no crueller start to an innings: pad up, walk out, walk straight back. A golden duck in a big final can haunt a batter for years.
Diamond duck — dismissed without even facing a ball, usually run out at the non-striker's end or timed out. It is the rarest and most unfortunate of ducks, because the batter never got a chance to play a shot.
Pair — dismissed for a duck in both innings of a match. A "pair" is dreaded in Test cricket, and a "king pair" — out first ball in both innings — is the ultimate batting humiliation.
Strike rate (batting) — runs scored per 100 balls faced. A strike rate of 140 in a T20 means the batter scores at 1.4 runs per ball. In Tests, a strike rate of 60 is perfectly respectable; in T20s, anything below 130 raises eyebrows.
Batting average — total runs scored divided by the number of times dismissed. It is the purest measure of a batter's consistency: an average above 50 in Tests marks out an all-time great, while in ODIs an average above 45 is elite.
Not out — a batter who is still unbeaten when the innings ends. Not-outs boost a batting average (since the batter wasn't dismissed) and are marked with an asterisk on the scorecard, like 78*.
Opener — one of the two batters who begin the innings. Openers face the new ball at its fastest and most swinging, so the role demands solid technique and courage. Great opening pairs are the foundation of great teams.
Top order — the batters at positions 1 to 3. The top order sets the tone of the innings: in Tests they must survive the new ball, in white-ball cricket they must score quickly during the powerplay.
Middle order — the batters roughly at positions 4 to 7. Middle-order batters must be adaptable — rebuilding after early wickets one day, accelerating towards a big total the next.
Tailender — a lower-order batter (positions 8–11), usually a specialist bowler. Tailenders are not expected to score heavily, but a stubborn tail partnership frustrating the opposition is one of cricket's great joys.
Nightwatchman — a lower-order batter sent in near the close of play to protect the specialist batters. The idea is simple: sacrifice a tailender for the last few tricky overs rather than risk a star batter in fading light.
All-rounder — a player genuinely skilled at both batting and bowling. True all-rounders are cricket's rarest commodity — they give the captain an extra bowler without weakening the batting, effectively letting the team play twelve players.
Wicketkeeper-batter — a keeper who is also a frontline batter. The modern game demands keepers who can bat in the top six, turning what was once a specialist defensive role into a match-winning one.
Powerplay — the phase of fielding restrictions at the start of a limited-overs innings: the first 6 overs in T20Is and the first 10 in ODIs, when only a few fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Batters attack fearlessly during the powerplay; bowlers try to survive it.
Death overs — the final overs of a limited-overs innings, usually the highest-scoring phase. Batters swing at everything and bowlers rely on yorkers and slower balls. Matches are won and lost at the death.
Anchor — a batter who steadies the innings while partners attack around them. The anchor holds one end, rotates the strike, and lets the big hitters take risks — a selfless role that rarely makes highlight reels but often wins matches.
Finisher — a batter who specialises in closing out run chases under pressure. Finishers stay calm when 20 runs are needed off the last over, pick their bowlers to attack, and are worth their weight in gold in T20 leagues.
Leave — deliberately letting a delivery pass through to the keeper without offering a shot. Leaving well is an art, especially in Test cricket, where shouldering arms outside off stump frustrates bowlers into bowling straighter — and straighter balls get driven for four.
Block (forward defence) — a defensive shot played with a straight bat to smother the ball safely into the pitch. The forward defence is the first shot every young batter learns and the last resort of every batter fighting to save a Test match.
Running between the wickets — the batters crossing to score runs, risking a run out every time. Great running turns ones into twos and puts pressure on the fielders; lazy running gets partners run out and dressing rooms fuming.
On strike — the batter facing the bowling. Strike matters enormously in limited-overs cricket: the better batter wants to face as many balls as possible. (Updated 2026: since October 2022, the incoming batter is always on strike after a caught dismissal, even if the two batters had crossed before the catch was taken.)
Switch hit — a shot where the batter changes stance from right-handed to left-handed (or vice versa) before the ball is delivered, then hits it on what is suddenly the "wrong" side of the field. It is legal, spectacular, and drives bowlers and purists equally mad.
Bowling Terms
Over — a set of six legal deliveries bowled by one bowler from one end. After each over, play switches ends and (usually) a different bowler takes the ball. Overs are the basic unit by which limited-overs matches are measured.
Maiden over — an over in which no run is scored off the bat or as extras. Maidens build pressure: dot balls pile up, batters get restless, and restless batters play rash shots. A bowler who bowls maidens in a T20 is worth celebrating.
Yorker — a full delivery aimed at the batter's toes, right at the base of the stumps. When executed perfectly, the yorker is nearly unplayable — too full to drive, too straight to leave. It is the ultimate death-overs weapon.
Bouncer — a short-pitched delivery that rises towards the batter's head or shoulders. Used to intimidate and to push the batter back onto the back foot. Limited-overs cricket restricts bouncers (usually one or two per over); in Tests, short-pitched bowling is a legitimate and fearsome tactic.
Slower ball — a deceptively reduced-pace delivery disguised with a normal bowling action. The batter swings early, the ball arrives late, and the result is often a tame catch. Masters of the slower ball win T20 tournaments.
Full toss — a delivery that reaches the batter without bouncing. Usually a mistake by the bowler and punished brutally — unless it is above waist height, in which case it becomes a beamer.
Beamer — a dangerous full toss above waist height, always called no-ball. Beamers are penalised because they can seriously injure the batter; a bowler who bowls two beamers in an innings is typically removed from the attack.
Good length — the area pitching about 6–8 metres from the stumps. It is called "good" because it gives the batter the hardest decision: too far forward to leave, too far back to drive confidently. Hitting a good length relentlessly is the hallmark of great fast bowlers.
Line — the lateral direction of a delivery relative to the stumps (off stump, middle stump, leg stump, or outside them). Line and length together are the two fundamentals of bowling: the right line asks questions, the right length makes them unanswerable.
Seam bowling — bowling that exploits the ball's raised seam deviating off the pitch. Seam bowlers thrive in overcast, English-style conditions, where the ball darts sideways off the surface and edges fly to the slips.
Swing bowling — movement of the ball through the air before it pitches. Conventional swing works with a new ball; the bowler angles the seam and lets aerodynamics do the rest. Watching a master swing bowler bend the ball both ways is one of cricket's great pleasures.
Reverse swing — late, dramatic inward swing of an older, rougher ball with one shiny side. It made Pakistani fast bowlers legends in the 1990s. (Updated 2026: more relevant than ever — since July 2025, ODIs use a single ball from the 35th over, so the ball gets old enough to reverse again.)
Off spin (off break) — finger spin that turns into a right-handed batter. Off-spinners flight the ball, invite the drive, and spin it past the edge or into the pads. On wearing pitches, they become unplayable.
Leg spin (leg break) — wrist spin that turns away from a right-handed batter. Leg-spin is the hardest art in bowling: the wrist action is difficult to master but produces extravagant turn, vicious bounce, and the game's most spectacular dismissals.
Googly (wrong'un) — a leg-spinner's delivery that spins the opposite way to expectations — into the right-hander instead of away. Batters pick the wrist action, expect the leg break, and are left stranded when the ball goes the "wrong" way. The nickname says it all.
Doosra — an off-spinner's delivery that turns away from a right-handed batter, the mirror image of the googly. Pioneered by Saqlain Mushtaq, the doosra relies on a bent-elbow action that has sparked endless debate about throwing — but its effectiveness is beyond question.
Carrom ball — a delivery flicked with the thumb and bent middle finger, like striking a carrom striker, that can turn either way. Its unreadability makes it a T20 mystery-spinner's favourite weapon.
Saliva — applying saliva to shine one side of the ball, the traditional method of maintaining swing. (Updated 2026: permanently banned since October 2022. Sweat is still allowed, and since 2025 umpires are no longer required to change the ball if saliva is applied accidentally.)
Spell — a bowler's continuous stint of overs from one end. Captains manage spells carefully: fast bowlers tire, spinners settle into rhythms, and the right bowling change at the right moment can change a match.
Five-wicket haul (fifer) — five or more wickets taken by a bowler in one innings. A fifer is the bowling equivalent of a century — the benchmark of a match-defining performance. Ten wickets in a match is the ultra-rare ten-wicket haul.
Hat-trick — three wickets taken with three consecutive deliveries. Hat-tricks can span overs, innings, even matches — the deliveries just need to be consecutive. Bowlers who take them are carried off by teammates; batters who face the hat-trick ball feel the whole stadium holding its breath.
Economy rate — average runs conceded per over bowled. In T20 cricket, economy rate is often more valuable than wickets: a bowler who goes for 6 an over while others go for 10 is winning the game quietly.
Bowling average — average runs conceded per wicket taken. The classic measure of a bowler's worth: under 25 in Tests is world-class, under 30 in ODIs is excellent.
Bowling strike rate — average balls bowled per wicket taken. Strike rate separates the wicket-takers from the containers: a strike bowler takes a wicket every 50 balls in Tests; a containing bowler might need 80.
Run out at the non-striker's end — the bowler dismissing the non-striker for backing up too far before the ball is delivered. (Updated 2026: since October 2022 this is classified as a normal run out under the Laws, not unfair play — the MCC discourages the old name "Mankad". It is a legitimate dismissal, though it still sparks debate every time it happens.)
Fielding Positions & Actions
Wicketkeeper — the fielder crouched behind the stumps who catches deliveries the batter misses and effects stumpings and run outs. The keeper is involved in almost every ball of the innings, and a sharp keeper can manufacture dismissals from nothing.
Slip — the catching position (or row of positions: first, second, third slip) behind the batter on the off side. Slips exist to catch edges from the new ball, and a strong slip cordon is the mark of a serious Test team. Dropped slip catches lose matches.
Gully — a catching position between the slips and point, slightly squarer and finer. The gully fielder needs lightning reflexes: thick edges fly there at terrifying speed, and the great gully fielders make impossible stops look routine.
Point — the athletic position square of the wicket on the off side. Point fielders cut off the cut shot and cover drive, and the best of them — think of the greats patrolling the covers — save 20 runs a match through sheer ground fielding.
Cover — the region between point and mid-off on the off side (cover point, extra cover). "Threading it through the covers" is one of batting's most beautiful sights; stopping it is one of fielding's hardest jobs.
Mid-off — on the off side, straighter and relatively close to the bowler. The mid-off fielder stops the straight drive and, in limited-overs cricket, is often brought up inside the circle to tempt the big shot over their head.
Mid-on — the mirror of mid-off on the leg side, straighter and close to the bowler. Bowlers love a good mid-on: it lets them attack the stumps knowing the straight flick is covered.
Mid-wicket — on the leg side, between mid-on and square leg. Mid-wicket is the engine room of leg-side fielding — pull shots and flicks go there all day, and the fielder needs a strong arm for the long return.
Square leg — square of the wicket on the leg side. The square-leg umpire stands here too, which is why this region is famous for lbw shouts and for fielders who must react to the pull shot in a split second.
Fine leg — behind square on the leg side, usually near the boundary. Fine leg exists to mop up the glance and the top-edged hook; in T20s it is one of the busiest boundary-riding positions.
Third man — behind the wicketkeeper on the off side, usually near the boundary. Third man catches the thick outside edge that flies past the slips — the "steer to third man" is a deliberate scoring shot in limited-overs cricket.
Long-on / long-off — the straight boundaries on the leg and off sides. When the batters are swinging hard at the death, long-on and long-off become the most important fielders on the ground: every mishit goes straight to them.
Deep (deep cover, deep mid-wicket…) — any position stationed near the boundary rope. "Deep" fielders patrol the fence in the death overs, and the difference between a great and average deep fielder is measured in saved sixes.
Silly mid-off / silly point — very close-in catching positions, almost within touching distance of the batter. The "silly" refers to the danger, not the fielder — standing that close to a hard-hit ball takes genuine courage (and a helmet and box).
Short leg — a close catching position on the leg side, near the batter. Short leg lives off the glove: bat-pad catches from defensive prods are the bread and butter here, and bruised shins are the occupational hazard.
Catch — a fielder holding the ball cleanly on the full, dismissing the batter "caught". (Updated 2026: since 2025 the "bunny hop" is outlawed — a fielder whose first contact with the ball comes from outside the boundary must land back inside the field of play for the catch to count; otherwise it is six.)
Run out — a batter dismissed when the fielding side breaks the stumps while the batter is short of the crease. Run outs are about awareness and athleticism: a direct hit from the deep is one of the most electrifying moments in cricket. (Updated 2026: since October 2026 the fielder must have full control of the ball when the stumps are broken — merely brushing the ball as the bails come off is not enough.)
Stumping — the wicketkeeper breaking the stumps with the batter out of the crease, off the bowler's delivery. Stumpings are the spinner's wicket: the batter lunges forward, misses, and the keeper whips the bails off in a blink. (Updated 2026: the same full-control requirement as run outs applies since October 2026.)
Direct hit — the stumps broken by a fielder's unaided throw, without the ball touching anyone else. A direct hit to run out a set batter can turn a match — it is pure skill under pressure, and the crowd knows it.
Misfield — a fielding error that lets the ball through for extra runs. Misfields deflate teams and delight batters. (Updated 2026: the Laws now formally distinguish a misfield from an overthrow — a misfield on its own no longer counts as an overthrow.)
Match & Format Terms
Test cricket — the five-day format, two innings per side, no over limits. The oldest and most demanding form of the game: technique, temperament and endurance are tested over 450 overs. Purists call it the real cricket; everyone else calls it the ultimate examination.
ODI — One-Day International: 50 overs per side, one innings each, completed in a day. The format of World Cups and of some of the most dramatic finishes in sporting history. (Note the 2025 ball rule: two new balls for overs 1–34, then one ball from the 35th over.)
T20I — Twenty20 International: 20 overs per side, one innings each, done in about three hours. The shortest international format — explosive batting, clever bowling variations, and athletic fielding. T20 leagues have made it cricket's commercial engine.
Innings — a team's (or an individual batter's) turn to bat. Note the plural form is the same in cricket: one innings, two innings. Each side gets one innings in limited-overs cricket and up to two in Tests.
Follow-on — the captain making the opposition bat again immediately after they trailed by 200 or more runs (150+ in shorter games). Enforcing the follow-on is the ultimate statement of dominance — but it also tires your own bowlers, so captains weigh it carefully.
Declaration — a captain voluntarily closing the team's innings before all ten wickets have fallen, usually to leave enough time to bowl the opposition out and force a result. Declarations are Test cricket's great tactical gamble: declare too late and the match drifts to a draw; too early and you might lose.
Draw vs tie — cricket's most confused pair. A draw happens in multi-day cricket when time runs out before a result is reached. A tie is when a match ends with the scores exactly level — possible in any format, and decided in limited-overs cricket by a super over.
Super over — a one-over-per-side eliminator used to decide tied limited-overs matches. Six balls each, highest score wins; if still tied, further super overs follow. The 2019 World Cup final was decided by a super over — and then by a boundary countback, a rule that was rightly scrapped afterwards.
DRS (Decision Review System) — the technology-based review system for umpiring decisions, using ball-tracking, UltraEdge (for edges) and Hot Spot. Each team gets a limited number of reviews per innings; a successful review is retained. (Updated 2026: since 2025, if a batter is cleared of one dismissal mode on review — say, caught behind — the TV umpire may check the next mode in sequence, such as lbw, carrying the original "out" decision forward.)
Umpire's call — the marginal zone in ball-tracking where the on-field decision stands because the technology shows the ball only clipping the stumps. It is DRS's built-in margin of error. (Updated 2026: under the 2025 protocol, umpire's call can now keep a batter out via the secondary-dismissal review described above.)
Concussion substitute — a like-for-like replacement allowed when a player suffers concussion. (Updated 2026: since June 2025 teams must pre-name five substitutes before the match — one wicketkeeper, one batter, one seamer, one spinner and one all-rounder. A concussed player must stand down for at least 7 days.)
Timed out — a batter dismissed for not being ready to face (or for their partner to be ready) within 2 minutes of the previous dismissal in Tests and ODIs, or 90 seconds in T20Is. Famously enforced against Angelo Mathews at the 2023 World Cup — the first timed-out dismissal in international cricket history.
Pink ball — a ball manufactured for visibility under floodlights, used in day-night Tests. It swings more than the red ball under lights and has divided opinion for a decade. (Updated 2026: since October 2026, teams may mutually agree before a match to trial the pink ball in a daytime Test to avoid bad-light stoppages — but the decision cannot be changed once play begins.)
Innings interval & drinks break — the scheduled breaks: between innings, and short drinks breaks during long sessions. (Updated 2026: the T20I interval is now fixed at 15 minutes — dropping to 10 if time was lost — and head coaches or a nominated representative may now come onto the field during drinks intervals in ODIs and T20Is.)
Stop clock — a visible 60-second countdown between overs on the ground's big screen. (New/updated 2026: permanent in all Full Member white-ball internationals since June 2024, and in Tests since the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle. The fielding side gets two warnings per innings, then concedes 5 penalty runs for every further breach; warnings reset every 80 overs in Tests.)
Scoring Terms
Run — the basic unit of scoring, completed when the two batters cross and make good their ground at the opposite ends. Everything in cricket — totals, targets, averages, run rates — is built from runs.
Four (boundary) — the ball reaching the boundary rope after bouncing: 4 runs, signalled by the umpire waving an arm back and forth. Piercing the infield and finding the rope is the bread and butter of batting.
Six — the ball clearing the boundary rope on the full: 6 runs, signalled by both arms raised. The maximum off one ball and the most thrilling sight in the sport — a clean six into the stands never gets old.
Dot ball — a legal delivery off which no run is scored. Dot balls are the currency of pressure: string enough together and batters do something desperate. Bowlers celebrate dot-ball streaks like batters celebrate boundaries.
Extras (sundries) — runs not credited to any batter: wides, no-balls, byes, leg-byes and penalty runs. Extras appear separately on the scorecard, and 20+ extras in an innings usually means the bowling side has been sloppy.
Wide — a delivery the umpire judges out of the batter's reach: 1 extra run (plus whatever else is run), and the ball must be rebowled. (Updated 2026: leg-side wides are now judged on the batter's leg position at the moment of delivery — batters can no longer manufacture wides by shuffling across — and this is a permanent ODI/T20I playing condition since October 2026.)
No-ball — an illegal delivery: the bowler's front foot lands beyond the crease, the ball is a beamer, or the action is otherwise illegal. It costs 1 extra run, the ball is rebowled, and in limited-overs cricket the next delivery is a free hit.
Free hit — the delivery after a front-foot no-ball in limited-overs cricket, off which the batter can only be dismissed run out. Batters swing freely knowing they cannot be out caught or bowled — bowlers dread it, crowds love it.
Bye — runs scored when the ball passes both batter and wicketkeeper without contact and the batters run. Byes are charged against the keeper on the scorecard, and four byes usually means the keeper (or the bowler's direction) had a moment to forget.
Leg bye — runs scored when the ball hits the batter's body (not the bat) and the batters run. Leg byes are allowed as long as the batter was attempting a shot or avoiding the ball — padding away deliberately is not permitted.
Overthrow — extra runs scored when a fielder's throw at the stumps misses and the ball runs on to the boundary or into open ground. The most famous overthrow in history came in the 2019 World Cup final. (Updated 2026: since October 2026 an overthrow is strictly defined as a throw aimed at the stumps to prevent runs or effect a run out — a simple misfield no longer qualifies.)
Penalty runs — blocks of 5 runs awarded for infringements like ball-tampering, deliberate short runs, or time-wasting. (Updated 2026: since October 2026 batters who waste time concede 5 penalty runs to the fielding side after two warnings, and a deliberate short run now costs 5 penalty runs plus the fielding captain gets to choose which batter takes strike.)
Net run rate (NRR) — runs scored per over minus runs conceded per over; the standard tiebreaker in tournament group stages. NRR turns every group match into a maths problem: teams don't just need to win, they need to win big or fast. Try our NRR calculator to work it out yourself.
DLS method — the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern mathematical formula that resets targets in rain-affected limited-overs matches. When rain interrupts, DLS calculates a fair revised target based on overs lost and wickets in hand. Nobody fully understands the maths; everybody argues about the result. Learn more in our DLS target estimator.
Required run rate — the runs per over the chasing side needs from this point to reach the target. Shown on every broadcast scorebug, it is the number that decides batting strategy: creeping above 10 an over, and the pressure becomes unbearable.
FAQs
What are the basic cricket terms every beginner should know?
Start with these ten: innings, over, wicket, run, four, six, duck, century, not out, and extras. Once those make sense, add powerplay, strike rate, yorker, googly, and DLS — this glossary covers all of them in detail above.
What is the DLS method in cricket?
The Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method is the mathematical formula used to reset targets when rain interrupts a limited-overs match. It calculates a fair revised target based on how many overs were lost and how many wickets the chasing team still has in hand.
What is "Mankad" called now?
Since October 2022 it is simply a run out. The MCC moved the dismissal of the non-striker for backing up too far from the "unfair play" law to the run-out law, and discourages the old name "Mankad".
What is the stop clock rule in cricket?
The fielding side must start each new over within 60 seconds of the previous one ending. After two warnings, every further breach costs 5 penalty runs. It has been permanent in ODIs and T20Is since June 2024 and in Tests since the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle.
How many balls are in an over?
Six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls don't count toward the six and must be rebowled, which is why an over can sometimes stretch to eight or nine actual deliveries.
What is the difference between a draw and a tie?
A draw happens in multi-day cricket when time runs out before either side can force a result. A tie is when both teams finish with exactly the same score — possible in any format, and broken by a super over in limited-overs cricket.
Conclusion
That is 100 cricket terms, each verified against the laws and playing conditions in force as of October 2026. Cricket's vocabulary can feel like a foreign language at first, but once these terms click, every match becomes ten times more enjoyable to watch.
Keep this glossary bookmarked — and when you're ready to understand how the game is actually played, read our complete guide to cricket rules next. You can also put your new knowledge to work with our free cricket calculators, including the NRR calculator and DLS target estimator.