B
- Back foot
- in a batsman's stance the back foot is the foot that is closest to the stumps. A bowler's front foot is the last foot to contact the ground before the ball is released; the other foot is the back foot. Unless the bowler is bowling off the wrong foot the bowling foot is the back foot.
- Back foot contact
- is the position of the bowler at the moment when his back foot lands on the ground just prior to delivering the ball.
- Back foot shot
- a shot played with the batsman's weight on his back foot (i.e. the foot further from the bowler).
- Back spin
- (also under-spin) a delivery which has a rotation backwards so that after pitching it immediately slows down, or bounces lower and skids on to the batsman.
- Backing up
- 1. The non-striking batsman leaving his crease during the delivery in order to shorten the distance to complete one run. A batsman "backing up" too far runs the risk of being run out, either by a fielder in a conventional run out, or – in a "Mankad" – by the bowler.
- 2. in fielding, a player who stands or runs to a position several metres behind another fieldsman, such that he can field the ball if his team-mate mis-fields it, is said to be backing up.
- Backlift
- the lifting of the bat in preparation to hit the ball.
- Baggy green
- cricket cap of green colour, which has been worn by Australian Test cricketers since around the turn of the twentieth century.
- Bail
- one of the two small pieces of wood that lie on top of the stumps to form the wicket.
- Ball
- the round object which the batsman attempts to strike with the bat. Also a delivery.
- Bang (It) In
- to bowl a delivery on a shorter length with additional speed and force. The bowler is said to be "bending his back" when banging it in.
- Barbecue
- when a batsmen runs his batting partner out, generally with a poor call,
- Bat
- the wooden implement with which the batsman attempts to strike the ball.
- Bat-pad
- a fielder who is in position close to the batsman on the leg side to catch the ball if it hits the bat, then the pad, and rises to a catchable height. Also a defence against being given out lbw, that the ball may have hit the bat first, however indiscernible.
- Batsman (also, and particularly in women's cricket, bat or batter)
- A player on the batting side, or a player whose speciality is batting, or one of the two members of the batting side who are currently at the crease.
- Batting
- the act and skill of defending one's wicket and scoring runs.
- Batting average
- the average number of runs scored per innings by a batsman, calculated by dividing the batsman's total runs scored during those innings in question by the number of times the batsman was out.
- Batting collapse
- a match situation in which many batsmen are dismissed in rapid succession for very few runs. The terms top order collapse or middle order collapse may be refer to batting collapses in a specific part of the batting order.
- Batting order
- the order in which the batsmen bat, from the openers, through the top order and middle order to the lower order.
- Beach cricket
- an informal form of the game played on beaches, particularly in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and cricket-playing Caribbean countries.
- Beamer
- a delivery that reaches the batsman at around head height without bouncing. Due to the risk of injury to the batsman, a beamer is an illegal delivery, punishable by a no ball being called. If an individual bowler bowls more than two beamers in an innings, they can be barred from bowling for the remainder of that innings.
- Beat the bat
- when a batsman narrowly avoids touching the ball with the edge of his bat, through good fortune rather than skill. Considered a moral victory for the bowler. The batsman is said to have been beaten. In some cases, this may be expanded to "beaten all ends up".
- Beehive
- a diagram showing where a number of balls, usually from a particular bowler, have passed the batsman. Compare pitch map.
- Belter
- a belter of a pitch is a pitch offering advantage to the batsman.
- Bend the back
- of a pace bowler, to put in extra effort to extract extra speed or bounce.
- Benefit season
- Biffer
- Bite
- the turn a spin bowler is able to produce on a pitch.
- Block
- 1. A defensive shot, or the act of playing such a shot;
- 2. The area of the field containing the pitch and any other pitches (being prepared for other games)
- Blocker
- Block hole
- the area between where the batsman rests his bat to receive a delivery and his toes. It is the target area for a yorker.
- Bodyline
- a tactic (now suppressed by law changes restricting fielders on the leg side) involving bowling directly at the batsman's body, particularly with close fielders packed on the leg side. Bodyline was a common tactic in the contentious 1932–33 Ashes Tour. The tactic is often called "fast leg theory" in other contexts.
- Boot Hill
- Another term for short leg, the least liked and most dangerous of the fielding positions.
- Bosie or Bosey
- See Googly
- Bottom hand
- The hand of the batsman that is closest to the blade of the bat. Shots played with the bottom hand often are hit in the air.
- Bouncer
- a fast short pitched delivery that rises up near the batsman's head.
- Boundary
- 1. the perimeter of the ground;
- 2. four runs. Also used to mention a four and a six collectively;
- 3. the rope that demarcates the perimeter of the ground.
- Bowled
- a mode of a batsman's dismissal. Occurs when a delivery hits the stumps and removes the bails.
- Bowled out
- see all out.
- Bowling
- the act of delivering the cricket ball to the batsman.
- Bowl-out Bowl-out
- a method of determining the result in a Twenty 20 match that has been tied. Five players from each team bowl at a full set of stumps, and the team with the most hits wins. If the number of hits is equal after both team's turns, further sudden death turns are taken. The concept is analogous to the penalty shootout used in other sports.
- Bowling action
- Bowling analysis
- (also called bowling figures) a shorthand statistical notation summarising a bowler's performance.
- Bowling average
- Box
- a protective item shaped like a half-shell and inserted into the front pouch of a jockstrap worn underneath a player's (particularly a batsman's) trousers to protect his or her genitalia from the hard cricket ball. Also known as an 'abdominal protector', 'Hector protector', 'ball box', 'protector' or 'cup'.
- Brace
- two wickets taken off two consecutive deliveries.
- Break
- a suffix denoting the ball changing direction after pitching caused by the bowler's spin or cut. For example, a leg spinner will deliver leg breaks (moving from leg to off).
- Bump ball
- a delivery that bounces very close to the batsman's foot, after he has played a shot, such that it appears to have come directly from the bat without ground contact. The result is often a crowd catch.
- Bumper
- old-fashioned name for a bouncer.
- Bunny
- see rabbit.
- Bunsen
- A pitch on which spin bowlers can turn the ball prodigiously. From the rhyming slang: 'Bunsen Burner' meaning 'Turner'.
- Bye
- extras scored in the same way as normal runs when the ball does not make contact with any part of the batsman (bat, protective gear, body parts).
Read more about this topic: Glossary Of Cricket Terms