Glossary Of Cricket Terms-S

Safe: Batters are safe when they are within their ground or have made their ground before a fielder can break the wicket, starting from a position between the popping creases.

Sandshoe Crusher: See toe crusher.

Sawn Off: A term used when a batter is wrongly or unluckily given out by an umpire.

Scoop Shot: See paddle scoop.

Scoreboard: A large mechanical or electronic display controlled by the scorer, indicating the current score. It typically shows runs scored, wickets taken, overs completed, and (in the second innings of a limited overs match) the target required (in limited overs matches). Advanced scoreboards provide detailed information such as individual scores for each batter, bowling analysis, required run rate, and par score.

Scorer: An individual responsible for recording the scoring and detailed statistics of the game, usually ball-by-ball.

Scramble Seam: A variation in seam bowling where the bowler tumbles the ball’s seam, hoping to create unpredictable bounce depending on the seam’s contact with the ground.

Seam: (1) The raised stitching running around the circumference of the ball. (2) A verb describing a ball deviating off the pitch because it has bounced on its seam.

Seam Bowling: A style of bowling where a bowler uses the ball’s raised seam to make it deviate upon bouncing off the pitch. Contrasted with swing bowling.

Seamer: Another term for a seam bowler.

Season: The period of the year when cricket is played, varying significantly between countries.

Selector: A person responsible for choosing players for a cricket team, especially at professional levels, acting under the authority of the relevant cricket administrative body.

Sent In: When a team is made to bat first after losing the toss, they are said to have been “sent in” by the opposing captain.

Series: A set of matches played between the same two teams in the same format but usually at different locations. A series often includes Test matches, One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

Session: A period of play, from start to lunch, lunch to tea, and tea until stumps.

Shelled a Dolly: Refers to dropping an easy catch.

Shepherd the Strike: A tactic where a batter aims to face the majority of balls bowled, often protecting a weaker batting partner.

Shooter: A delivery that skids after pitching, bouncing lower than expected and making it difficult for the batter to hit cleanly.

Short: (1) A fielding position close to the batter but not as close as silly positions. (2) Describes a delivery bowled relatively close to the bowler.

Short-Pitched: A delivery that bounces relatively close to the bowler, intended to rise above waist height.

Short of a Length: Describes a short-pitched delivery that is not as short as a bouncer.

Short Run: A run that does not count because one of the batters failed to ground some part of their body or bat behind the popping crease while attempting an additional run.

Shot: The act of the batter hitting the ball with their bat.

Short Stop: A fielder positioned right behind the wicket keeper, either upfront (inside the 30-yard circle) known as Short Stop, or further back outside the circle known as Long Stop.

Shoulder Arms: A defensive technique where the batter lifts the bat high above their shoulder to avoid playing the ball.

Side On: (1) A bowling technique where the bowler has back foot, chest, and hips aligned towards the batter at the moment of back foot contact. (2) A batting stance where the batter’s hips and shoulders are facing at ninety degrees to the bowler.

Sight Screen: A large board placed behind the bowler, beyond the boundary, used to provide contrast to the ball, aiding the batter in seeing the ball when it is delivered. Typically colored white to contrast a red ball, or black to contrast a white ball.

Silly: A modifier indicating fielding positions unusually close to the batter, like silly mid-off, silly mid-on, silly midwicket, and silly point.

Single: A run scored by the batters physically running once between the wickets.

Single Wicket: A one-vs-one version of cricket where two competitors bat, bowl, and field against each other, while neutral participants field for both. Each inning consists of a single wicket and a limited number of overs.

Sitter: A very easy catch. A fielder who misses such a catch is said to have ‘dropped a sitter.’

Six (or Sixer): A shot that passes over or touches the boundary without bouncing, scoring six runs for the batting side.

Skiddy: A pace bowler who obtains a low bounce on their delivery. The opposite is slingy.

Skier (or Skyer): A mistimed shot hit almost straight up in the air, often resulting in the batter being caught out. It can be embarrassing if the fielder positions themselves perfectly but still misses the catch.

Skipper: An informal term for the captain, derived from the nautical term “skipper.”

Skyline: Alternative name for Manhattan.

Slash: An aggressive or reckless cut shot, played square on the off side to a short-pitched delivery wide of off stump.

Sledging: Verbal exchanges between players on opposing sides, ranging from banter to psychological tactics aimed at undermining the opposition’s confidence or concentration. Considered controversial in some cricketing countries.

Slice: A kind of cut shot played with the bat making an obtuse angle with the batter.

Slider: A wrist spinner’s delivery with backspin on the ball.

Slingy: A pace bowler who typically obtains a high bounce on their delivery, possibly due to their unusual height. The opposite is skiddy.

Slip: A close fielder positioned behind the batter, next to the wicket-keeper on the off-side. Commonly, there are two or three slips in an attacking field, and one or none in a defensive field.

Slip Catching Cradle: A large training equipment used for practicing quick-reaction catches by slip fielders.

Slog: A powerful shot where the batter hits the ball high and long in an attempt to reach the boundary. Considered risky as it can result in a six or a four, but also has a high chance of getting the batter out.

Slog Sweep: A type of slog where a sweep shot is hit hard and in the air, clearing the boundary, used exclusively against spin bowlers.

Slower Ball: A medium-paced delivery bowled by a fast bowler, designed to deceive the batter by making them play the ball too early.

Slow Left Armer: A left-arm, orthodox, finger spin bowler; the left-handed equivalent of an off spinner.

Snick (Edge): A slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat.

Snickometer: A television graphic used to assess whether the batter has snicked the ball. It combines a slow-motion replay with a sound oscilloscope to analyze whether a sharp sound corresponds with the ball passing the bat.

Soft Hands (Batting): To bat with relaxed hands, absorbing the ball’s momentum to prevent sharp rebounds.

Soft Hands (Fielding): To catch the ball with relaxed hands, allowing the ball to hit gently, reducing the risk of bouncing out.

Specialist: A player selected for a team primarily for a single skill, not an all-rounder or wicket-keeper-batter.

Spectacles: Another word for a pair, referring to two ducks (0–0) on the scorecard.

Spell: The number of continuous overs a bowler bowls before being relieved.

Spider Graph (Wagon Wheel): A graphical chart representing the trajectory of the ball from each scoring stroke, showing its direction, distance, and elevation. Each scoring stroke is represented by a colored line.

Spin Bowling: A style of bowling where a spin bowler attempts to deceive the batter by imparting spin on the ball using fingers or wrist.

Spirit of Cricket (Spirit of the Game): A concept of good conduct, encompassing fair play, sportsmanship, mutual respect, and acceptance of umpires’ decisions.

Splice: The joint between the handle and the blade of a bat, the weakest part. If the ball hits the splice, it might pop up for an easy catch.

Square: (1) A position perpendicular to the pitch; opposite of fine. (2) The area where pitches are prepared. (3) An imaginary line extending the crease to the boundary on the leg side.

Square Leg: (1) A fielding position on the on side approximately at right angles to the batter. (2) A person fielding at that position.

Square-Cut: A cut shot played square, perpendicular to the bowler’s delivery.

Stance (Batting Stance): The posture of a batter holding their bat when facing a delivery.

Stand (Partnership): A synonym for partnership, referring to the collaboration between two batters at the crease.

Standing Up: Position adopted by a wicket-keeper close to the stumps when a slow or medium-pace bowler is operating.

Start: When a batter avoids being dismissed for very few runs, generally understood to mean a score of twenty runs in Australia. It signifies the batter’s successful navigation through the initial period of vulnerability.

Steaming In: Refers to a bowler taking a fast run-up to deliver the ball.

Sticky Dog: A drying wicket that is exceedingly difficult to bat on. Uncommon in recent years due to routine pitch covering.

Sticky Wicket: A difficult wet pitch.

Stock Ball (Stock Delivery): A bowler’s standard type of delivery, the one they bowl most frequently. Bowlers usually have a single stock delivery and one or more variations.

Stodger: A batter who focuses on defending and scoring at a mediocre rate. This style can be seen as resilient but is sometimes used in a derogatory manner.

Stonewaller: An extreme example of a blocker, referring to a batter who plays defensively, often to a fault.

Straight: Close to the imaginary line between the two sets of stumps. Can refer to the direction of a shot, a fielding position, or the line of a delivery.

Straight Bat: The bat held vertically or swung through a vertical arc.

Straight Up-and-Down: A pejorative term for a fast- or medium-paced bowler who cannot swing or seam the ball.

Stranded: A batter is said to be stranded on their score if they narrowly miss scoring a century or similar milestone because their team’s innings ends.

Strangled: A form of dismissal where a batter attempting to play a leg-side glance gets an inside edge caught by the wicketkeeper.

Street: A pitch that is easy for batters and difficult for bowlers, sometimes called a road or highway.

Strike: The position of the batter facing the bowler. Also used in the phrase ‘Keep [the] strike’ to arrange runs on the last ball of an over to face the first ball of the next.

Strike Bowler: An attacking bowler whose role is to take wickets rather than restrict scoring, often a fast bowler or attacking spinner.

Strike Rate (Batting): A percentage calculated by dividing the number of runs scored by a batter by the number of balls faced.

Strike Rate (Bowling): The average number of deliveries bowled before a bowler takes a wicket.

Striker: The batter who faces the deliveries bowled.

Stroke: An attempt by the batter to play at a delivery.

Stump: One of the three vertical posts making up the wicket – ‘off stump,’ ‘middle stump,’ and ‘leg stump.’

Stumped: A method of dismissing a batter where the wicketkeeper breaks the wicket with the ball while the batter is outside their crease, having not attempted a run.

Stumps: (1) The plural of stump. (2) In a timed match lasting more than one day, the end of a day’s play if the match is not yet complete.

Stump-Cam: A small television camera inside the middle stump to provide close-up images of play, especially during a bowler’s delivery.

Substitute: A player able to replace another on the fielding side, able to field but not allowed to bat, bowl, or keep wicket.

Sun Ball: A method of bowling where the ball is intentionally bowled at a great height and a sluggish pace, using the sun’s rays to interrupt the batter’s vision.

Sundry: Another term for an extra run or runs added to the batting side’s total.

Supersub: A substitute player introduced under experimental One-Day International rules between July 2005 and February 2006, who could replace any player at any point during the game, taking over both batting and bowling duties.

Super Over: A method for breaking a tie in limited-overs matches, where each team plays one more over with nominated batters until two wickets are lost or a specified number of balls are bowled. The team with the most runs in the super over wins. In case of a further tie, a boundary count is used to determine the winner.

Surrey Cut: See French Cut.

Sweep: A shot played to a good length slow delivery, where the batter gets down on one knee and sweeps the ball to the leg side.

Sweet Spot: The small area on the face of the bat that gives maximum power for minimum effort when the ball is hit with it.

Swerve: A less common term for the drift used by spin bowlers.

Swing: A bowling style where the ball curves in the air. Conventional swing happens away from the shiny side of the ball. Reverse swing is a variation of swing where the old ball swings in the opposite direction to conventional swing.

Swish: A rapid or careless attacking stroke by the batter.

Switch Hit: A shot played by a batter who reverses both their stance and grip during the bowler’s run-up, effectively changing from a right-handed to a left-handed batsman (or vice versa). Popularised by England batter Kevin Pietersen.