Glossary of Cricket Terms - C

C

Call

1. The act of a fieldsman in announcing to other fieldsmen that he is in a position to take a catch, usually by shouting the word "mine". This is considered good practice, as it prevents two fieldsmen colliding with one another in an attempt to take the same catch. See mine.

2. Calling is the process by which a batsman announces to his partner whether or not to take a run. A batsman is said to have the call if it is his responsibility to announce to his batting partner whether or not to take a run. Generally, the call is taken by the batting partner who has the better view of the ball: by the striker for a shot forward of the crease, or the non-striker for a shot behind square. Only one batsman makes a call to avoid errors which would lead to a run out.

Cameo

A brief but quick-scoring innings e.g. "He played a little cameo of an innings".

Cap

headwear traditionally worn by cricketers in the field.

Captain

Carrom ball

a style of slow bowling delivery in which the ball is released by flicking the ball between the thumb and a bent middle finger in order to impart spin

Carry

if a hit ball is caught by a fielder on the fly, it is said to have carried. If it bounces just short of the fielder, it is said not to have carried. The carry of a delivery to the wicket keeper is also noted as a measure of the quality of the pitch.

Carry the bat

an opener who is not out at the end of a completed innings is said to have carried his bat.

Cart-wheeling stump

when a ball hits a stump with enough force to cause it to make vertical revolutions before landing.

Castled

out bowled often by a full length ball or a Yorker.

Catch

to dismiss a batsman by a fielder catching the ball after the batsman has hit it with his bat but before it hits the ground.

Caught

Caught and bowled

when a player is dismissed by a catch taken by the bowler. The term originates from the way dismissals are recorded on a scorecard; the alternative "bowled and caught", referring to the sequence of events in the chronological order, is almost never used.

Caught behind

a catch by the wicket-keeper.

Centurion

a player who has scored more than 100 runs (a century) in an innings.

Century

an individual score of at least 100 runs, a significant landmark for a batsman. Sometimes used ironically to refer to a bowler conceding over 100 runs in an innings.

Charge

when the batsman uses his feet and comes out of his batting crease towards the bowler, trying to hit the ball. Also known as giving the bowler the charge, or stepping down the wicket.

Chest on (also front on)

1. A chest on bowler has chest and hips aligned towards the batsman at the instant of back foot contact.

2. A batsman is said to be chest on if his hips and shoulders face the bowler.

Chin music

The use of a series of bouncers from pace bowlers to intimidate a batsman. Term taken from baseball.

Chinaman

a left-handed bowler bowling wrist spin (left arm unorthodox). For a right-handed batsman, the ball will move from the off side to the leg side. Some commentators alternatively refer to googlies bowled by such bowlers as Chinamen. In both cases, named after Ellis "Puss" Achong, a West Indian left-arm wrist-spin bowler of Chinese descent.

Chinese cut

see French Cut

Chuck

to throw the ball instead of bowling it (i.e. by straightening the elbow during the delivery); also chucker: a bowler who chucks; and chucking: such an illegal bowling action. All are considered offensive terms as they imply cheating.

Circle

a painted circle (or ellipse), centred in the middle of the pitch, of radius 30 yard (27 m) marked on the field. The circle separates the infield from the outfield, used in policing the fielding regulations in certain one-day versions of the game. The exact nature of the restrictions vary depending on the type of game: see limited overs cricket, Twenty20 and powerplay (cricket).

Clean bowled

bowled, without the ball first hitting the bat or pad.

Come to the crease

A phrase used to indicate a batsman walking onto the playing arena and arriving at the cricket pitch in the middle of the ground to begin batting.

Contrived circumstances

Unusual tactics which are intended to achieve a legitimate outcome, but result in wild statistical abnormalities; for example, deliberately bowling extremely poorly to encourage a quick declaration. Wisden excludes records set in contrived circumstances from its official lists.

Cordon (or slips cordon)

all players fielding in the slips at any time are collectively referred to the slips cordon.

Corridor of uncertainty

a good line. The corridor of uncertainty is a notional narrow area on and just outside a batsman's off stump. If a delivery is in the corridor, it is difficult for a batsman to decide whether to leave the ball, play defensively or play an attacking shot. The term was popularised by former England batsman, now commentator, Geoffrey Boycott.

County cricket

the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales.

Covers

1. A fielding position between point and mid-off.

2. The equipment used to protect the pitch from rain.

Cow corner

the area of the field (roughly) between deep mid-wicket and wide long-on. So called because few 'legitimate' shots are aimed to this part of the field, so fielders are rarely placed there – leading to the concept that cows could happily graze in that area.

Cow shot

a hard shot, usually in the air, across the line of a full-pitched ball, aiming to hit the ball over the boundary at cow corner, with very little regard to proper technique. A type of slog.

Crease

one of several lines on the pitch near the stumps (the "popping crease", the "return crease" and the "bowling crease") most often referring to the popping crease.

Cricketer

a person who plays cricket.

Cross-bat shot

a shot played with the bat parallel with the ground, such as a cut or a pull. Also known as a horizontal-bat shot.

Cut

a shot played square on the off side to a short-pitched delivery wide of off stump. So called because the batsman makes a "cutting" motion as he plays the shot.

Cutter

a break delivery bowled by a fast or medium-pace bowler with similar action to a spin bowler, but at a faster pace. It is usually used in an effort to surprise the batsman, although some medium-pace bowlers use the cutter as their stock (main) delivery.