Glossary of Cricket Terms - F

F

Fall

a verb used to indicate the dismissal of a batsman, e.g "The fourth wicket fell for the addition of only three runs".

Fall of wicket

the batting team's score at which a batsman gets out. Often abbreviated to "FoW" in scorecards.

Farm the strike (also shepherd the strike or farm the bowling)

of a batsman, contrive to receive the majority of the balls bowled.

Fast bowling (also pace bowling)

a style of bowling in which the ball is delivered at high speeds, typically over 90 mph (145 km/h). Fast bowlers also use swing.

Fast leg theory

A variant of leg theory in which balls are bowled at high speed, aimed at the batsman's body. See Bodyline.

Feather

a faint edge.

Featherbed

A wicket which is considered to be good for batting on, offering little, if any, help for a bowler.

-fer

a suffix to any number, meaning the number of wickets taken by a team or bowler. (See also fifer/five-fer)

Ferret

see rabbit.

Fielder (also, more traditionally, fieldsman)

a player on the fielding side who is neither the bowler nor the wicket-keeper, in particular one who has just fielded the ball.

Fielding

Fill-up game

when a match finished early a further game was sometimes started to fill in the available time and to entertain the paying spectators.

Find the gap(s)

to play a shot or series of shots along the ground, between fielders. The least risky way of scoring runs quickly, but it requires good technique to be able to do consistently.

Fine

of a position on the field behind the batsman, closer to the line of the pitch (wicket-to-wicket); the opposite of square.

First-class cricket

the senior form of the game; usually county, state or international. First-class matches consist of two innings per side and are usually played over three or more days.

First change

the third bowler used in an innings. As the first bowler to replace either of the opening pair this bowler is the first change that the captain makes to the attack.

First eleven

First innings points

In first-class competitions with a league table to determine standings, such as the Sheffield Shield, in addition to points awarded for winning or tieing a match, a team is also awarded points for taking a first innings lead, i.e. scoring more than their opponents in the first innings.

Fishing

being tempted into throwing the bat at a wider delivery outside off-stump and missing, reaching for a wide delivery and missing. See also waft.

Five-wicket haul (also five-for, five-fer, fifer, shortened to 5WI or FWI, or colloquially Michelle)

five or more wickets taken by a bowler in an innings, considered a very good performance. The term five-for is an abbreviation of the usual form of writing bowling statistics, e.g. a bowler who takes 5 wickets and concedes 117 runs is said to have figures of "5 for 117" or "5-117".

Flash

to wield the bat aggressively, often hitting good line and length deliveries indiscriminately.

Flat pitch

a pitch which is advantageous to the batsmen and offers little or no help to the bowlers, due to predictable bounce.

Flat hit

an aerial shot hit with signigicant power by the batsmen which travels fast enough to make the ballistic trajectory of the ball appear flat

Flat throw

a ball thrown by the fielder which is almost parallel to the ground. Considered to be a hallmark of good fielding if the throw is also accurate because flat throws travel at a fast pace.

Flat-track bully

a batsman high in the batting order who is very good only when the pitch is not giving the bowlers much help.

Flick

a gentle movement of the wrist to move the bat, often associated with shots on the leg side.

Flight

a delivery which is thrown up at a more arched trajectory by a spinner. Considered to be good bowling. Also loop.

Flighting

Flipper

a leg spin delivery with under-spin, so it bounces lower than normal, invented by Clarrie Grimmett.

Floater

a delivery bowled by a spinner that travels in a highly arched path appearing to 'float' in the air.

Fly slip

a position deeper than the conventional slips, between the slips and third man.

Follow on

a team which bats first in the second innings, after having batted second in the first innings, is said to have followed on. The captain of the team batting first in the first innings may direct the team batting second to follow on if it leads by a certain margin after the first innings; this margin is currently 200 runs in a five-day game, and 150 runs in a three- or four-day game.

Follow through

a bowler's body actions after the release of the ball to stabilise their body.

Footmarks

On a grass pitch, the bowler creates a rough patch where he lands his foot and follows through after delivering the ball. The rough patch can become cratered and becomes more abrasive as the match continues and more people step on it. The abrasive surface means that the ball will increasingly grip more if it lands in the footmarks. Bowlers, particularly spinners, will aim the ball there as it will turn more sharply, and is more likely to get irregular bounce from such areas, making it more difficult for the opposition batsmen.

Footwork

the necessary (foot) steps that a batsman has to take so as to be at a comfortable distance from where the ball has pitched, just right to hit the ball anywhere he desires, negating any spin or swing that a bowler attempts to extract after bouncing.

Forty-Five (on the one)

An uncommon fielding position akin to a short third-man, roughly halfway between the pitch and the boundary. Also used for a short backward square leg (at 45° behind square defending a single).

Forward defence

a commonly-employed defensive shot.

Four

a shot that reaches the boundary after touching the ground, which scores four runs to the batting side.

Four wickets (also 4WI)

four or more wickets taken by a bowler in an innings, considered a good performance. Mostly used in One Day Internationals.

Free hit

a penalty given in some forms of cricket when a bowler bowls a front foot no-ball. The bowler must bowl another delivery, and the batsman cannot be dismissed by the bowler from that delivery. Between the no-ball and the free hit, the fielders may not change positions (unless the batsmen changed ends on the no-ball).

French cricket

an informal form of the game. The term "playing French Cricket" can mean that a batsman has not moved his feet and looks ungainly because of this.

French Cut (also Chinese Cut, Surrey Cut, or Harrow Drive)

terms for any poorly executed shot which results in an inside edge which narrowly misses hitting the stumps.

Front foot

in a batsman's stance the front foot is the foot that is nearer to the bowler. A bowler's front foot is the last foot to contact the ground before the ball is released.

Front foot contact

is the position of the bowler at the moment when his front foot lands on the ground just prior to delivering the ball.

Front-foot shot

a shot played with the batsman's weight on his front foot (i.e. the foot nearest the bowler).

Fruit Salad

when a bowler delivers a different type of delivery each time, rather than bowling a constant speed, length and angle. Fruit salad bowling is used most commonly in Twenty20 to prevent batsmen from getting comfortable.

Full length

a delivery that pitches closer to the batsman than a ball pitching on a good length, but further away than a half-volley.

Full toss (also full bunger)

a delivery that reaches the batsman on the full, i.e. without bouncing. Usually considered a bad delivery to bowl as the batsman has a lot of time to see the ball and play an attacking shot. Also, it does not have a chance to change direction off the ground, making it the ultimate crime for a spin or seam bowler.