What comes up in your mind when you hear ‘fantasy cricket‘? Well as the term itself suggests, it lets your imagination run wild and lets you live your dream. Dream cricket basically means a game where you can build up your own fantasy XI. All cricket fans have their own dream XI, and they always wish to create their dream team. T20 cricket games is an opportunity for such cricket fans to unleash their cricketing brains. Additionally, use their knowledge to create their dream team.
You have been playing fantasy cricket and not aware of the common terms used, is that even possible? If you are not aware of the common terms of cricket, how will you select your 11 team members based on their quality?
Let’s find out some of the terms:
Striker
A batsman facing the bowler is caller striker and the opposite end, called as non-striker.
Off-side/leg-side
One half of the ground is called off-side and the other side is called leg-side. From the perspective of a right handed batsmen, the pitch in front of his body as he takes a strike. Similarly, the left half of pitch, i.e. the pitch behind body while taking a strike, called as leg-side.
Run
It is the basic unit of scoring in cricket. A team scores when a striking batsman hits the ball bowled and runs between the stumps along with non-striker. He scores in ones, twos, and threes.
Four
Ball hit by the batsman crosses the boundary rope by rolling on the ground. Then, it has known as a boundary or four runs.
Six
Shot that ensures the ball lands directly outside the rope is called six or six runs are allotted to the batsman.
No-ball
If a bowler’s foot crosses the popping crease while delivering the ball then, it is called a no-ball. The ball directed above waist of the batsman without pitching on the ground is a no-ball too.
Wide
A ball that is bowled away from the batsman and moves wide of the return crease on the off-side at the batting end is called wide. Another definition can be ball that bounces over the head of the batsman after pitching, also called as wide.
Out
When a batsman gets out, it gives opportunity to the next person on the batting side to play until 10 players out of 11 dismisses in various ways. The most common ways of getting out – bowled, caught, run-out, LBW and stump out.
Bowled
It is a way of getting out where the batsman misses the ball bowled and the stumps behind are disturbed.
Caught
A batsman is declared out when the fielder catches the ball on full that is hit by the batsman. If it caught by the wicket-keeper then called caught-behind.
LBW
LBW stands for leg-before wicket. A batsman declared out as LBW when he tries to play the ball. He does this with his body that has directed on to stumps.
Run-out
If a fielder disturbs the stumps with ball in hand while the batsman not in crease after playing a shot, then the batsman is run-out.
Stumped
A batsman moves out of crease to play a ball and misses, the keeper gathers the ball and hits the stumps with ball in hand. Then, the batsman declared out as stumped.
Spin bowling
Bowlers run short distance from stumps and release the ball with the use of wrist or fingers to get maximum revolutions. The ball tossed in the air spins after pitching. Off-break and leg-break are two varieties of spin bowling.
Fast bowling
Bowlers sprint and deliver the ball at high speed to batsman. To do so, they take long run-up from stumps. Slow-medium, medium-fast, and fast are the popular fast bowling varieties.
Extra runs
All the runs given by fielding team where the batsmen have not hit the ball with the bat considered as extra runs. For example, wide, no-ball, etc.
Innings
A session of batting and bowling where either the batting team is all-out or the permissible number of overs fielding team bowls completes.
Enjoy playing fantasy cricket!
You may also read – Interesting Stat Records In Cricket History