Filed under Cricket Rules & Laws

An article over 2 months in writing. My idea started from problogger after reading his A to Z of blogging, but after writing 30-40% of it, I realized how lengthy, boring at times but important this article can be for those who understand game of cricket not that much. Hopefully Itsonlycricket readers will be benefited by it, or else enjoy to know how many terms are used in the game we share common love with.
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A
Appeal : a polite question to umpire, whether batsman was out off recently bowled delivery, or not.
Ashes : a "5 test match" series : England vs Australia. Oldest of all, played every 2nd year. See this.
Australia : 1st International challengers to this English game. Reigning World Champions as you read.
Average : is runs scored by batsman per innings. is also runs given by a bowler per wicket he takes.

B
Bails : Two tiny wood pieces resting over wickets. must be completely removed to dismiss batsman.
Bat : Wooden (structured) piece in batsman's hands. He uses it to dispatch the ball past boundary.
Batsman : Its his game. Man with bat (at the centre of ground) to whom the ball is bowled at.
Ball : Leather covering cork & other synthetics. Red for test matches, white for D/N ODIs. Try this.
Betting : ILLEGAL, if you try to influence match result. Few sites are good, but I better not link any.
Bowler : twisting arm, shoulders & body - to send a ball 22 yards of distance. with one kiss of soil only.
Bouncer : Short-pitched ball going over batsman's shoulders. Bodyline series marked only these.
Boundary : Oval in shape, fenced somehow. about 70 yards from either side of striking batsman.

C
Catch : taking the hold of ball, hit by a batsman ~ before she kisses the soil or crosses the fence.
Century : 100 individual runs made by a batsman off his own bat. not by partner or pad.
Crease : around 2 yards of box for a batsman to stand before the wickets. The safe zone.
Captain : Leader of the lot. Decides who bats, who bowls, who fields with when & where.
Coach : 2nd hand to cricket team captains. Planning practise, tricks, motivating & strategies n all.

D
Declaration : Got enough runs, captain can call end to his team's batting innings anytime he wants.
Doosra : an off spinner, turning the ball leg to off rather than obvious off to leg stump.
Draw : 5 days of cricket, yet no team took required 20 wickets n won.. that's a draw, but not tie.

E
Extras : Runs for batting team. but not off batsmans bat. through pads, wides, bowler no ball etc.
England : Soccer may have illusionised them now, but English people initiated the whole chapter.
Eden Gardens : ability to host 120K cricket fans at a time. Simply the biggest cricket stadium.

F
Follow on : If leading by 200 or more in a 5 day test match, you can ask opposition to bat again.
Free Hit : bowler bowls a foot no ball, next ball is free hit. Only run out possible. only in twenty20.
Full Toss : a delivery reaching batsman without bouncing off the pitch. Above waist not allowed.
Fielder : All 10 (leaving the bowler) are cricket fielders of the team not batting that moment.

G
Googly : a leg-spinners ball turning not leg to off but off to leg stump for a batsman. difficult art.
Ground : Stectators seating stand, 70 odd yards grassy field around a 22 yard pitch at centre.
Gloves : protective gear for fingers & hands for a batsman & wicket keeper.
Guard : another cricket homonym. Guard is the mark batsman makes at the batting crease, or a protective gear.

H
Hat-trick : bowler taking 3 wickets in 3 balls. or even fielding team getting 3 wickets running.
Hawk-Eye : Fixed cameras track length & line of all deliveries. pridicts ball would've hit the wickets or not.
Hot Spot : another Channel 9 technology to take X-rays of batsman shots. Shows if ball hit the bat or not.
Helmet : Head protective gear, with iron grill in front. Denies the ball an entry to batsman's face.

I
Innings : Test have 4 innings. ODI & twenty20 have 2. Aus batting, RSA bowling - that's an inning.
India : Cricket is a costly game. In a 'not so rich' country, every Indian is born with some genes of it.
ICC : They say International cricket council makes all the rules & keep command. Here.

K
Kan't find any... I mean can't find any word with this letter. I'm hoping you'll suggest some.

L
Leg before wicket (LBW) : a mode of dismissal. A batter can't put his legs (pads) infront of wicket.
Leg Break : A right arm spinner, turning the ball from leg to off, to an right handed batsman.
Laws : cricket rules or laws are more than you can ever read & remember. Try this.

M
Maiden : An over bowled by bowler, with giving away a single run off the bat.
Match Fixing : They say punters bribe some cricketers, to influence the result of the match.read this. Net Run Rate : Runs scored devided by full number of overs bowled in an innings.
Night watch man : A bowler batting above recognised batsman in tests, to save him towards end of the day.
No ball : Full toss over batsmans hips, or exceeding bowling crease or a 3rd bouncer in an over.
Non striker : batsman at other end, from where the bowler is bowling, while the striker faces.

O
Off Break : A right handed spinner, spinning the ball from off to leg, to a right handed batsman.
Openers : the two batsman who come out first up, at begining of each innings in tests or One day Internationals.
Overs : Six leagal balls bowled consecutively by a bowler, completes an over.
One day International (ODI) : 50 over match, played between International cricket teams.

P
Power play : fielding restriction rule in ODI cricket, untill few starting overs. read this.
Playing time : Fixed number of minutes allowed to bowl speculated number of overs.
Player : The batsman, bowlers or the fielders playing cricket match. 11 in each team.
Pads : leg protective gear, comes in variety but does the same job.
Pitch : the 22 yard stripe at the middle of cricket field. game of cricket is played on it.

Q
Quant think of any important cricket term with alphabet 'Q' either.

R
Retire : A batsman can postpond his innings through some injury or willingly, allowing others to bat.
Reverse swing : ball swinging opposite to the shiny side - a Pakistani invention.
Runs : baundaries + sixes + extras + number of times the two batters exchange side.
Run rate : Number of runs made in number of overs.
Runner : an injured batsman can get someone from his team, to run for him.
Run-up : the bowler's sprinting area,before he deliveries the ball.

S
Sight screen : White/black board behind the bowlers arm, for batters to see no disturbance.
Sledging : art of irritating/abusing/joking the batsman when bowlers can't get him out.
Swing : Cricket balls move in air, due to the shine & seam on the leather balls.
Substitute : Squad member can field in case a player gets injured during matches.
Spinner : bowlers who turn the ball to take wickets, not by bowling fast.
Scorers : Each International cricket match has 2 official score managers.
Strike rate : Average of runs made by batsman per 100 balls he faces.

T
Tail-ender : the last few batsman (the bowlers) coming out to bat in team need.
Tie : when both teams finish a match at same total score, its a tied match.
Twelfth man : 11 players + 1 man from sqaud to carry drinks, gears & field in need.
Toss : 1 captain throws the coin in air, other predicts. to decide who does what n when.
Twenty20 : newest version of International cricket. 20 overs per side matches.
Test Match : 5 day cricket matches, with 90 overs bowled every day, until result is reached.
Third Umpire : additional umpire in pavilion, to judge run out through video replays.

U
Umpire : his decision is last. 2 are on field, one at each bowling end.
Underarm : bowlers arm coming from down to up, sending ball to batsman with little/no bounce.
Uniform : the dress players wear. white for test matches, colored for ODIs & twenty20.

V
Veteren : a cricketer who has played loads of cricket. Experienced man he is.

W
Wicket : three static stumps at each end of the 22 yard pitch, with two bails resting on.
Wicket keeper : fielder with gloves behind the wicket.
World Cup : once in a four year tournament, participated by all plus few more countries.

X
Xelent alphabet but not many cricket words start with it though.

Y
Yorker : full length ball pitching very close to batsman's toe. Very tough to score off.

Z
Zeeeee.. this article finally meets her end..!!