Phrases with Cricket origins
| PHRASE | MEANING | HISTORY |
|---|---|---|
| Hat Trick! | 3 in a row | A bowler was once challenged if he could take 3 consecutive wickets. A hat was passed around for the bets. Amazingly he succeeded and the name stuck. |
| Bowled Over! | Knock over | |
| Stumped! | Bewildered | |
| That's not Cricket! | Unfair | Cricket is the Gentleman's game; fair play is a part of the game. |
| At sixes and sevens! | Is lost | |
| Batting on a Sticky Wicket! | In a tight Spot |
Origin of Cricket Words
| WORDS | ORIGIN |
|---|---|
| Wicket | A small door or gate, which served as the stumps in the old days of Cricket. |
| Bails | Bail is an old word of French origin that appeared in the English language in the 16th Century. It was used to describe a movable horizontal part of the little gate, or wicket that served as the entrance to a sheep pen - which was used as the target for bowling at in the early versions of the game. |
| Stumps | In old cricket, the wickets were tree stumps. |
| On side and off-side | The use of the word on and off originates between the off side and near side of a horse or carriage, the off side being the opposite side which a driver walks or the rider mounts. Some of the early cricket writers actually referred to the near-side when describing the leg-side however this term did not last. |
| Duck | A player once used to bring his pet duck to his matches. Now his fate was such that, each time he brought the duck to the ground, he got out for zero. Hence the name. |
| Slips | The origin of the slips is hinted at in an early description of the long stop, who is required to cover many slips from the bat. Early cricket writers identify two slip positions in the game. The first was called a short-slip, which was equivalent to the modern-day 1st or 2nd Slip position. The other position was called a long-slip, which was equivalent to the modern-day Short 3rd Man or Fly-slip position. By the turn of the present century an attacking field would usually have two slips (in the modern sense) which were called 1st Slip and cover-slip or extra-slip. |
| Popping Crease | In the old days there were no stumps; instead there was a small pit, and the fielders had to 'pop' the ball into it to run a batsman out. This term originates the popping hole that was a hole cut in the turf. This hole played a major part in the rules of early cricket, as the batman had to place his bat in this hole on completion of a notch or run. In order to get the batsman out the wicketkeeper had to put the ball in the hole before the batsman could reach it with his bat. This however led to serious hand injuries and was eventually superseded by the batsman having to touch a stick held by the umpire. The popping hole was eventually represented symbolically in the modern game by a popping crease for the purposes of scoring a run. |
| Cover | The origin was that the fielder in this position was referred to as The Man who covers the Point and Middle Wicket. |
| Gully | The name apparently derives from the more general meaning of gully, and suggests a narrow channel or gorge between point and the slips. Gully is a fairly recent term for the position formerly called short 3rd Man or backward point. It became a position in its own right following the development of off-theory attack towards the end of the 19th century. |
| Point | The origin of this term stems from early cricket when the position was called point of the bat. This indicates that the fielder stood very near to the end of the strikers bat (hence the even older name for this position was bats end). The fieldsman would field no more than three and a half yards from the batsman. |
| Third Man | In the early days of cricket, a bowler used to have 3 slips, and the area between gully and slips used to be vacant. When shots were played in that area, the 3rd slip used to be transferred there, and hence became "Third Man". |
| Mid-on and Mid-off | The terms are actually a contraction of the earlier position middle wicket off and middle wicket on. The manuals and illustrations of the early 19th century all show middle wicket as one of the standard fielding positions of the game at that time. Middle wicket was an offside fielding position between extra cover and the bowler. However, an equivalent leg-side position was also occasionally used, so the two middle wicket positions as middle wicket off (Mid-Off) and middle wicket on (Mid-On). |
| Mid wicket | This term although an ancient cricket term only received its current meaning in the 1930s. Prior to that time mid-wicket or middle wicket was simply another name for mid-off. The position currently called mid-wicket in earlier times would have been called forward square leg or perhaps extra mid-on. |
| Beamer | It is said that a Cambridge University fast-bowler who, fed up with the slow, placid pitches at his home ground of Fenners, decided to upset the complacency of the opposing batsman with this threat to their personal safety patented this delivery. At Fenners, it was very difficult to detect the ball in flight since the ball came at the batsman out of a dark background of trees. |
| Chinaman | The left-arm finger-spin. A Chinese immigrant, (Edgar Ellis Achong) to the West Indies was the first to bowl this variation in the 1940's. |
| Doosra | Hindi and Urdu word for "the other one" |
| Googly | The origin of this term was that the delivery mystified the batsman so much it made their eyes goggle. The suggestion that the term derived its meaning from a Maori word during a MCC tour of New Zealand in 1902/03 can be dismissed as the term was used in Australia in the 1890s. |
| Yorker | The term is believed to derive from a 18th and 19th century regional slang connection between the words Yorkshire and york and the notion of cheating and deception. This derivation seems most likely, as the purpose of a good yorker is to deceive the batsman. |
| Umpire | The term derives from the Middle English term noumpere, which means a non-peer or unequal, indicating an odd man or third party called in to adjudicate between two contestants. There have always been two umpires-an arrangement presumably dating back to the origins of the double-wicket game. |
| Pads | They were introduced into cricket only with the advent of roundarm and overarm bowling, which was sufficiently fast to injure the legs of batsman. Early cricketers did not consider it sporting to defend their wickets with their legs, so there was no need for pads - or indeed for an L.B.W. law. The first pads were of wood and then, in 1836, H. Daubeney invented the forerunners of modern pads. |
Did you Know?
- Baseball is derived from cricket and rounders.
- Played in the 1900 Olympics. UK won, France got silver.
- USA vs. Canada test match (1846) was the first international sport ever played.
- Cricket comes form the French "Criquet".
- The most famous international series, is the "Ashes", between England and Australia.
- The official cricket magazine is the Wisden.
- The Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C.) first published its rules in 1788.
- There were only two stumps in old cricket.
- Underarm bowling was allowed in old cricket.
- Sir Don Bradman (1908-2001), [Australia] is considered the best batsman ever, having an impassable test batting average of 99.94.
- In the old days 5 runs were scored in place of today's 6.
- One-day cricket first made its appearance in 1961
- All countries in the world have a cricket presence.
- Second largest spectator sport after football (soccer). It is watched by almost a billion people.
- One of the early sites dedicated to live cricket was founded by Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones in 1996.
Movies featuring cricket
Unfortunately there aren't many Hollywood movies featuring cricket. Here are some which have a cricket theme.
- Lagaan (2001) IND (Oscar Nominee 2002)
- Bodyline (mini) (1983) AUS
The following just have a single scene of cricket.
- The Beach (2000)
- The Road to Avonlea (TV) (1990) (single episode)
- Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
- Master and Commander: Far Side of the World (2003)
- Vertical Limit (2000)
Famous non sportsmen related to cricket:
- Russel Crowe's two cousins are the former New Zealand cricketers Martin & Jeff Crowe.
- Shaggy started out his career singing for a Test match.
- Christian Vieri, the former Italian football (soccer) player used to play cricket for his school in Australia.
Computer Games:
- Cricket 2007 – EA Sports
- Brian Lara Cricket