Thursday, October 22, 2009

F

Fall

a verb used to indicate the dismissal of a batsman, eg "Bradman fell for 12 [runs]"

Fall of wicket ("FoW")

the batting team's score at which a batsman gets out.^[16]

Farm the strike (also shepherd the strike or farm the bowling)

of a batsman, contrive to receive the majority of the balls bowled.^[16]

Fast bowling (also pace bowling)

a style of bowling in which the ball is delivered at high speeds, typically over 90 mph (145 km/h). Fast bowlers also use swing.^[16]

Fast leg theory

A variant of leg theory in which balls are bowled at high speed, aimed at the batsman's body. See Bodyline.

Feather

a faint edge.^[3]

Featherbed

A wicket which is considered to be good for batting on, offering little, if any, help for a bowler.^[1]

-fer

a suffix to any number, meaning the number of wickets taken by a team or bowler. (See alsofifer/five-fer)

Ferret

an exceptionally poor batsman, even more so than a rabbit. Named because the ferret goes inafter the rabbits. Sometimes referred to as a weasel for the same reason. See also walking wicket.

Fielder (also, but more rarely, fieldsman)

a player on the fielding side who is neither the bowler nor the wicket-keeper, in particular one who has just fielded the ball.

Fill-up game

when a match finished early a further game was sometimes started to fill in the available time and to entertain the paying spectators.

Fine

of a position on the field, close to the line of the pitch (wicket-to-wicket); the opposite ofsquare.^[16]

Fishing

being tempted into throwing the bat at a wider delivery outside off-stump and missing, reaching for a wide delivery and missing. .

First-class cricket

the senior form of the game; usually county, state or international. First-class matches consist of two innings per side and are usually played over three or more days.^[8]

Five-for (also five-fer, Fifer, five wicket haul, or shortened to 5WI or FWI)

five or more wickets taken by a bowler in an innings, considered a very good performance. Abbreviated from the usual form of writing bowling statistics, e.g. a bowler who takes 5 wickets and concedes 117 runs is said to have figures of "5 for 117". Sometimes called a "Michelle", after actress Michelle Pfeiffer.

'Forty-Five

A fielding position akin to a short third-man, roughly halfway between the pitch and the boundary.

Flash

to wield the bat aggressively, often hitting good line and length deliveries indiscriminately. Often applied in a caribbean context, as in 'a flashing blade'.

Flat throw

a ball thrown by the fielder which is almost parallel to the ground. Considered to be a hallmark of good fielding if the throw is also accurate because flat throws travel at a fast pace.

Flat-track bully

a batsman high in the batting order who is very good only when the pitch is not giving thebowlers much help.

Flick

a gentle movement of the wrist to move the bat, often associated with shots on the leg side.

Flight

a delivery which is thrown up at a more arched trajectory by a spinner. Considered to be good bowling. Also loop.

Flipper

a leg spin delivery with under-spin, so it bounces lower than normal, invented by Clarrie Grimmett.^[1][3]

Floater

a delivery bowled by a spinner that travels in a highly arched path appearing to 'float' in the air.^[1]

Fly slip

a position deeper than the conventional slips, between the slips and third man.^[6]

Follow on

the team batting second continuing for their second innings, having fallen short of the "follow on target". The definition of this target has changed over time, but is currently 200 runs behind the first teams score in a 5 day game, 150 runs in a 3 or 4 day game, 100 runs in a 2 day event and 75 in a single day.^[6]

Follow through

a bowler's body actions after the release of the ball to stabilise their body.^[6]

Footwork

the necessary (foot) steps that a batsman has to take so as to be at a comfortable distance from where the ball has pitched, just right to hit the ball anywhere he desires, negating any spin or swing that a bowler attempts to extract after bouncing.

Forward defence

a commonly-employed defensive shot.

Four

a shot that reaches the boundary after touching the ground, so called because it scores fourruns to the batting side.

Free hit

a penalty given in some forms of cricket when a bowler bowls a no-ball. The bowler must bowl another delivery, and the batsman cannot be out off that delivery (except by being run out). Between the no-ball and the free hit, the fielders may not change positions (unless the batsmen changed ends on the no-ball).

French cricket

an informal form of the game. The term "playing French Cricket" can be used by commentators to indicate that a batsman has not moved his feet and looks ungainly because of this.

French Cut (also Chinese Cut or Surrey cut or Harrow drive)

an inside edge which misses hitting the stumps by a few centimetres.

Front foot

in a batsman's stance the front foot is the foot that is nearer to the bowler. A bowler's front footis the last foot to contact the ground before the ball is released.

Front foot contact

is the position of the bowler at the moment when his front foot lands on the ground just prior to delivering the ball.

Front-foot shot

a shot played with the batsman's weight on his front foot (i.e. the foot nearest the bowler).

Full length

a delivery that pitches closer to the batsman than a ball pitching on a good length, but further away than a half-volley.

Full toss (also full bunger)

a delivery that reaches the batsman on the full, i.e. without bouncing. Usually considered a baddelivery to bowl as the batsman has a lot of time to see the ball and play an attacking shot. Also, it does not have a chance to change direction off the ground, making it the ultimate crime for a spin or seam bowler.^[1][3]

G

Gardening

a batsman prodding at the pitch with his bat between deliveries, either to flatten a bump in thepitch, to soothe his own frazzled nerves or simply to waste time or upset the rhythm of thebowler. Considered facetious as there is not really a point to it.^[1][3]

Gazunder

a delivery that fails to bounce to the expected height after bouncing, thus beating the batsman and "goes under" the bat. Often results in batsmen being out bowled.

Getting your eye in

when the batsman takes his time to assess the condition of the pitch, ball or weather etc before starting to attempt more risky strokes.

Glance

the shot played very fine behind the batsman on the leg side. A glance is typically played on a short-pitched ball.^[8] See also flick.

Glove

part of a batsman's kit worn to protect the hands from accidental injury. When a hand is in contact with the bat it is considered part of the bat and so a player can be given out caught to aball that came off the glove hence "gloved a catch."

Glovemanship (also Gauntlet work)

the art of wicketkeeping. eg 'A marvellous display of glovemanship from the wicketkeeper.'

Golden duck

a dismissal for nought (zero), from the first ball faced in a batsman's innings.

Golden pair (also King pair)

a dismissal for nought (zero) runs off the first ball faced in each of a batsman's two innings of a two-innings match (see this list of Pairs in test and first class cricket).

Good length

the ideal place for a stock delivery to pitch in its trajectory from the bowler to the batsman. It makes the batsman uncertain whether to play a front-foot or back-foot shot. A good length differs from bowler to bowler, based on the type and speed of the bowler. The "good length" is not necessarily the best length to bowl, as a bowler may wish to bowl short or full to exploit a batsman's weaknesses.^[1]

Googly

a deceptive spinning delivery by a leg spin bowler, also known (particularly in Australia) as thewrong 'un. For a right-hander bowler and a right-handed batsman, a googly will turn from the off side to the leg side. Developed by Bosanquet around 1900, and formerly called a bosie orbosey.^[1][3]

Gouging

causing intentional damage to the pitch or ball.

Grafting

batting defensively with strong emphasis on not getting out, often under difficult conditions.

Green Top

a pitch with an unusually high amount of visible grass, that might be expected to assist the bowlers.

Grip

the rubber casings used on the handle of the bat. The term is also used to describe how the bowler holds the ball and how the batsman holds the bat.

Groundsman (or curator)

a person responsible for maintaining the cricket field and preparing the pitch.^[6]

Grubber

a delivery that barely bounces.^[1]

(Taking) Guard

the batsman aligning his bat according with a stump (or between stumps) chosen behind him. Typically, the batter marks the position of the bat on the pitch. The marking(s) give the batter an idea as to where s/he is standing in relation to the stumps. See also LBW.^[6]

Gully

a close fielder near the slip fielders, at an angle to a line between the two sets of stumps of about 100 to 140 degrees.^[6]

Gun Bowler

Principle attacking bowler in a team.^[17][18][19]. See article fast bowler.
Sometimes used in bowls^[20] and ten-pin bowling^[21]. Mainly Australian usage^[22].