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'Dibbly Dobbly','French Cut' ,'Bunny' and other Cricket World Cup terms you should know by now

'Dibbly Dobbly','French Cut' ,'Bunny' and other Cricket World Cup terms you should know by now

The Cricket World Cup is well underway, casual fans have probably heard some terms that seem like complete utter nonsense or fabrication of the worse sort. Words like “part-timer” or “bunny” or “all-rounder”.

So, here are  28 words, terms and slang that you need to know to keep up with the commentary and the late night matches. Memo to Canadian cricket fans: send this to your hockey buddies. They’ll appreciate it. You’re welcome.

ALL ROUNDER: A player that is picked because he can do everything. He’s good at batting AND bowling. Normally bats anywhere between 4 to 7 and bowls at the death (see below.)

AT THE DEATH: The final eight overs of an innings. This is where teams batting look to swing the bat and score as much as possible. The bowling team, generally, want to bowl tight and not give away too many runs.

BUNNY: Could also be referred to as a “tailender”, a bunny is a bowler who bats at No. 9, 10 or 11. Most of the time a bunny is an easy out.

BELTER: Term used to describe a pitch that looks good for run making. A batsmen’s dream. A “belter of a pitch” is usually flat, hard and non-threatening. Another common term for a belter is “ a road”, referring to its flat nature.

BLOB: Is when a batsmen scores zero. Also known as a “duck” or a “quack quack”. A golden duck is when a batsmen goes out the very first ball he faces. A diamond duck is when a batsman is out without facing a ball. Then, there’s also the “Olympic Rings” if a batsmen makes five consecutive ducks in five matches.

DUCKWORTH-LEWIS SYSTEM: A system full of algorithms and mathematical equations that calculates an estimated score because rain has impacted part of an innings.

DIBBLY-DOBBLY: Slow-medium bowlers.

DOING PLENTY: The opposite to a “belter”. Doing plenty means the pitch has cracks, holes and grass. When the ball hits the pitch it moves so much that the batsmen has no idea how to play the delivery. Hence the term the pitch is “doing plenty”. Baseball fans, think Gaylord Perry.

FOUR: A ball hit by the batsmen that hits the fence or rope along the ground.

FRENCH CUT: Not a cooking reference, but rather a poor shot that hits the inner edge of the bat and narrowly misses the stumps.

FIVE-FA: Original pronunciation is “Five For”. When a bowler takes five wickets in one innings. Also referred to as a “Michelle”, as in Michelle Pfeiffer.

HOWZAT: The full term is “How is that?!” This is how bowlers and fielders appeal to the umpire. You will hear this when bowlers are appealing for an L.B.W, a catch or a run out.

HALF CENTURY: When a batsmen makes 50 runs for himself. A gentle raise of the bat to the fans and player’s shed will often accompany a half-century. Also see “Ton”.

JAFFA: A perfect wicket ball that should have the batsmen out, but for some strange reason nothing eventuates. Bowler and fielders stand around for a few seconds with hands on hips soaking up the greatness of that ball. For ex. “I can’t believe the batsmen is still in. That ball was a Jaffa.”

LATE CUT: A shot played by the batsmen on the offside that travels down to Third Man, a position behind the stumps near the fence or roped off area. The Late Cut is used in one-day internationals a lot.

L.B.W.: Stands for Leg Before Wicket. When a batsmen is hit on the pads in line with the stumps.

MAIDEN: When a bowler completes an over (six balls) and has no runs scored off him.

PART-TIMER: A player who is not a regular bowler. Usually a batsmen that occasionally bowls. A captain would bring a “part-timer” on to break a partnership, change things up and get a wicket.

SIX: A ball hit by the batsmen that goes over the fence or rope and into the stands. Baseball fans would call this a home run.

SLEDGING: A common term used for trash talking. An intimidation tactic.

STUMPS: Those three wooden pegs you see at either end of the pitch are called stumps or wickets. The two top pieces of wood are called bails. Those bails have to come off for an out to occur.

SLOG: When a batsmen hits the ball hard. Slogging occurs at anytime. You usually slog a six and sometimes a four. But mainly a six.

TON: The ton is also called a “century.” It occurs when a player scores 100. Players usually take off their helmet and raise their bat in full to the crowd and player’s shed. It would be the equivalent to a soccer player scoring a hat trick.

VERBAL SPRAY: When players get into a heated sparring match it is usually referred to as a “verbal spray”. The Australians love to do this to intimidate the batsmen.

WICKET: Two meanings here. The first: “he took a wicket,” means the bowler got the batsmen out.The second: “the ball hit the wicket,” means the ball hit one of the three wooden pegs also called stumps.

YORKER: A type of delivery a bowler uses to restrict the batsmen from scoring. The ball is aimed at the base of the stumps, making it hard for the batsmen to slog (see Slog) the ball for six or four.

YIPS: If someone has the “yips” it means he’s forgotten how to play cricket for no apparent reason. Can apply to both bowlers and batsmen. Tiger Woods has his own battles with the yips on the golf course these days.

ZOOTER: A ball bowled by a leg spinner with little or no spin on it. Like the arm ball.