Arm Ball - A style of delivery bowled by Spin bowlers.
B
Bails - The two smaller pieces of wood which fit on top of the three stumps.
Beamer - A delivery bowled which goes over the top of the stumps before it hits the ground/bounces.
Bouncer - A short delivery bowled by faster bowlers which bounces up towards the batsman's head/chest after pitching.
Boundary - The long rope which forms a circle at the edge of the field. If a batsman hits the ball to the boundary he scores 4 runs; if he hits it to the boundary without the ball bouncing before it reaches the rope he scores 6 runs.
Bowled - When a legal delivery dislodges at least one of the bails from the stumps.
Box - A form of protection, which is intended to protect your goolies.
Byes - Runs earned when the ball has not come into contact with the bat or batsman's body, and is not considered a wide.
C
Caught - When the batsman hits the ball directly to a fielder without the ball bouncing (no "one hand one bounce" rule) off a legal delivery, or when the ball hits the batsman's glove and carries to a fielder without bouncing.
Century - When a batsman has reached 100 runs, or the team total is worth 100 runs.
Chinaman - A style of delivery bowled by left-arm spinners.
Close Of Play - When play has finished for the day, and the teams will not return to the field until the following day.
Covers - A fielding position; region on the field which is north-east to a right-handed batsman.
Cut Shot - An attacking shot played late and infront of the batsman's body on the off side.
D
Declare - When a team decides to end their innings (usually to force a result or end a game) without losing all their wickets.
Defensive Block - A safe shot played with the bat facing slightly downwards to protect the ball from hitting the stumps and not looping up in the air.
Delivery - The name used to describe the "bowling of a ball".
Duck - When a batsman is out for 0 (nought).
Duckworth/Lewis - A method used to decide a victory target in rain-affected limited-overs matches.
E
Economy Rate - The average runs conceded per over by a bowler.
Extras - The runs not scored by all the batsman; i.e. runs which didn't come off the bat (includes byes, leg byes, wides, no-balls and penalties)
F
Fast Bowler - A bowler who bowls at over 80mph. Spin bowlers usually bowl around 50mph; the fastest bowlers can just reach the 100mph mark, which (as a batsman) gives you around 0.3 seconds to react.
Flipper - A style of delivery bowled by spinners.
Follow-On - If the team batting second (in a game of two innings each) are all out for 200+ runs less [in a five-day game] or 150+ runs less [in a game of four days or less] than the team who batted first, then the team who batted first can enforce the follow-on, which means the team who have batted second will bat again immediately, instead of bowling to the team who batted first like they would normally.
Full Toss - A delivery which reaches the batsman without bouncing, but does not fly over the stumps like a beamer.
G
Golden Duck - When a batsman is out first ball for 0 (nought).
Googly - A style of delivery bowled by spinners.
Gully - A fielding position just behind square of the batsman (i.e. at an angle of more than 90 degrees compared with the batsman's position).
H
Half-Century - When a batsman reaches 50 runs, or the team total is worth 50 runs.
Hook Shot - A shot played around/above the head of the batsman on the leg side, usually off bouncers or short deliveries.
I
Innings - The term used to describe the time taken for one side to bat until they are either all out (i.e. have lost all of their 10 wickets) or have declared. In matches lasting more than one day, both teams have two innings each.
J
K
King Pair - When a batsman is out first ball for 0 (nought) twice in a game.
L
Lbw - Leg Before Wicket. This is even more complex than explaining the Offside rule in football to people who don't follow the game.
Leg-Break - A style of delivery bowled by slower/spin bowlers.
Leg Byes - Runs earned by the batsman when the ball has hit him anywhere on the body (apart from the glove if it is attached to the bat), but has not hit the bat.
Leg Glance - A delicate shot played by the batsman to a legside delivery.
Length - A term used to describe the accuracy of a bowler's bowling - in this case how short or full the bowling is.
Line - A term used to describe the accuracy of a bowler's bowling - in this case along the line of a particular region of the pitch (i.e. wide of the stumps or on a particular stump).
M
Maiden - An over in which no runs are conceded off the bat, and no wides or no-balls are conceded by the bowler.
Midwicket - A fielding position; same sort of region as the covers, but on the legside of the batsman.
N
New Ball - Taken by the bowler at the start of the innings (and during every 80 overs of a game lasting more than three days). Seen as an advantage to the bowling side, as the new ball is likely to swing and cause problems for the batsman.
Night-Watchman - When an unrecognised batsman (i.e. the bowlers, who are not expected to score many runs) who bats in the lower-order is brought in at the fall of a wicket of one of the top-order batsman. This happens near to the close of play and is simply to prevent another valuable batsman getting out.
No Ball - When the bowler's foot is just beyond the popping crease as he bowls, the Umpire calls it as a no-ball. One run is given to the batting team, and the ball is bowled again. The batsman cannot be out on a no-ball unless he is run out.
O
ODI - One-Day-International. A game of one innings and limited overs (varies from 20 overs, 45 overs and 50 overs in the modern game). The bowlers can only bowl a maximum of one fifth of the total amount of overs to be bowled, and coloured kits are worn by both teams and a white ball is used. It is a more attacking and exciting form of the game (Not that test cricket isn't exciting - it's brilliant!).
Off-Break - A style of delivery bowled by slower/spin bowlers.
Off-Side - The half of the pitch which is "infront" of the batsman.
On-Side - The half of the pitch which is "behind" the batsman.
Opener - The first two batsmen who start or "open" the innings for the batting side.
Out - The batsman can be out in 9 ways: Bowled, Caught, Run Out, Lbw, Stumped, Handled the ball, Timed out, Obstructing the field, Hit the ball twice. The Umpire will signal this by raising his index finger.
Over - 6 balls/deliveries make up an over (excluding wides, no-balls etc.) and the same bowler cannot bowl 2 consecutive overs.
Over-Rate - The average amount of overs bowled by the bowling team during an hour (this will usually be around 13-15). In ODI matches, teams batting second may be docked overs for slow/poor over-rates, as the game has to be completed during the alotted time.
P
Pair - When a batsman is out twice for 0 (nought).
Partnership - The amount of runs scored by a batting pair since the fall of the last wicket.
Penalties - Usually occurs if the ball has hit a helmet or other item of clothing (belonging to the fielding team) lying on the ground. Penalties are worth 5 runs.
Pitch - Although refers to the whole area inside the boundary rope, the pitch is the light-coloured strip in the centre of the outfield where the action unfolds. Fielders are prohibited from walking along the very centre of the pitch, as it needs to be protected. The pitch deteriorates as the match draws closer to the end of the game (this becomes very apparent during the final day of a test match). Certain pitch conditions ultimately affect the pattern/outcome of the game, for example:
Dry/dusty pitch - allows for significant spin
Green pitch - allows for significant swing
Hard/flat pitch - ideal for batting
Cracked pitch - ideal for pace bowling; plenty of uneven bounce
Damp pitch - low bounce
Popping Crease - The line in which a batsman must put his bat in to earn a run. If the batsman attempts a run and/or is out of his crease when the ball is thrown at the stumps, breaking the wicket, then he is run out or stumped.
Pull Shot - A shot played on the leg-side where the ball bounces up around waist/chest high. Similar to a hook shot, but played lower down on the body.
Q
R
Reverse Sweep - When a right-handed batsman rotates his bat 180 degrees to play a left-handed sweep shot or vice-versa.
Reverse Swing - When the ball swings in the opposite direction is it expected to.
Runs - A batsman can score runs depending on how many he runs, or he may get 4 or 6 runs for scoring a boundary. The bowler can give away runs by bowling no-balls and wides.
Run Out - When the batsman does not have his bat ground in the popping crease and the ball has been thrown at the stumps, dislodging a bail(s). If the wicket-keeper breaks the wicket with his gloves it does not count as "run out" - the ball must come into contact with the wicket.
S
Short Leg - A fielding position whereby the fielder is barely a couple of yards away from the batsman on his leg-side; it is a very dangerous position and therefore the fielder wears a box, helmet, shin-pads and various other protection.
Silly Mid-Off - A fielding positon on the off-side.
Slips - Fielding position on the off-side, next to the wicketkeeper. In an attacking field, there may be up to five slips in place; in a defensive field there may be none.
Slog - A high-risk attacking shot (or series of shots) to get quick runs. Teams will usually go for a slog towards the end of their innings in a limited-overs match if they have wickets in hand.
Slower Ball - A ball bowled out of the back of the hand, or as a spin delivery, by fast bowlers to dramatically reduce the pace of the ball, and therefore try and confuse the batsman into playing his shot too early.
Spin - Spin bowlers will turn their wrist or fingers to create spin on the ball to try and dismiss the batsman. It is generally acknowledged that dusty pitches allow for plenty of spin on the final two days of a four or five day game.
Square Leg - A fielding position on the leg-side which is at 90 degrees to where the batsman is standing. Also the position of the second (square leg) umpire.
Strike Rate - The average amount of runs a batsman will score per hundred balls he faces.
Stumped - When a batsman's body part or bat is not grounded in the popping crease just after the bowler has bowled, then the wicket-keeper may remove the bails with the ball. Stumpings are much more common when a spinner is bowling, as the keeper is standing right up to the stumps.
Stumps - The three wooden poles which make up the wicket (along with the bails). There are two sets of stumps, one set at each end. They are about 71.1cm tall.
Sweep - A shot played by the batsman when down on one knee (usually to a spinner), which is hit low down on the leg-side.
Swing - The movement a fast bowler is able to get when bowling. When conditions are overcast, this allows for more swing. Bowlers will keep one side of the ball shiny and polished and the other roughed up to help the ball swing more, and ultimately to get the batsman out.
T
Tailender - A bowler who doesn't have much batting ability, and occupies the number 10 or 11 spot in the batting order.
Target - The number of runs required to win a game; this is always one more than the other team's total.
Test Match - A game between two international sides which lasts for five days, with roughly 6 hours of cricket per day (90 overs).
Tie - When the game finishes with the two scores identical; in a test match it is when the team chasing a total is all out for the same total score, in a one-day game (depending on the importance), it is when the alotted overs are finished with the two scores level (the team doesn't have to be all out) - however in a knock-out tournament the team who has lost fewer wickets will progress, or failing that, the team who was ahead after the fielding restrictions ended will win.
U
Umpire - The officials who make the decisions in the game. There are two umpires on the field; the third umpire has the benefit of TV replays to decide on run-outs and disputed decisions.
V
W
Wicket - The area which includes the pitch and the stumps, or when a batsman has been dismissed, a wicket has "fallen".
Wicket-keeper - The fielding position just behind the stumps. The keeper wears baseball-like gloves and pads for protection.
Wide Ball - When a delivery is too far away from the batsman to hit, the umpire calls a wide, whereby one run is added and the ball bowled again. If the ball is "wide" and goes away for four runs, then it is considered 5 wides.
X
Y
Yorker - A delivery which hits the ground just infront of the batsman's toes. It is difficult to get the bat down in time to block out a yorker, which is why it is effective in getting batsmen out bowled.
Z