Lost in Translation: Explaining Cricket to the Americans

As England's cricket team prepares for Thursday's final test against South Africa, it struck me—a UK journalist living now in New York—that Americans don't really know a lot about British sport.

It goes both ways, too. How many Brits follow baseball or the NHL? How many Americans can name the starting goalkeeper in last year's FA Cup winning side?

With that in mind, here's my cricketing master class, the first of my Lost in Translation series. And by master class, I mean as much useless knowledge you will ever need to understand our beautiful game.

Like that gloves are outlawed for all fielders except the wicket-keeper (the baseball equivalent of a catcher), that you could miss a whole week of work to watch one cricket match that could still end up in a draw, and that opponents have been known to throw candy at the opponents' feet to make the ball bounce in unexpected ways.

You want more?

OK, how about that there is a fielding position called "cow corner," that a ball pitched right into a hitter's wheelhouse is called a "dibbly dobbly," or that a "leg break" is a type of pitch—not nearly as vicious at it sounds.

Premise

In its most simplistic form, the batting team tries to score as many runs as possible before they're all out. Once they are, they take their turn at trying to get the other team out. One team fields while the other team bats, then they switch around halfway through. Simple, right?

There are a number of differences from baseball you need to know.

1) Players keep batting until they are out. Each player gets just one out per game, not like in baseball where you can have three, four, or five "at bats." In cricket, one batter can have an "at bat" that lasts six or seven hours. Games can last between a few hours and five days.

2) Even after playing for five days, games can still—and often do—end in a draw.

3) Players bat in the middle of the field, and they can hit the ball in any direction, even backwards.

4) There are two batters playing at once, standing opposite each other at the end of a rectangular patch on the field known as the "pitch." The bowlers (baseball's pitchers) take turns bowling from each end.

5) Players score runs by running between two sets of wickets, 20 meters apart. Wickets are three wooden stumps that are 28 inches tall and nine inches wide in total. They are hammered into the ground at either end of the rectangle

6) Players score four runs if the ball goes to the boundary after bouncing (like a ground rule double) or six runs if it doesn't bounce (like a home run). Unlike baseball, the boundary is marked with a rope or white line, not a concrete wall with plastic padding.

There are a number of ways a player can make an out in cricket.

1) Bowlers throw the ball towards the wicket (see above). The batsman has to defend the wicket and stop the ball hitting it. If the ball or bat hits the wicket, the batter is out.

2) The batter can be caught out, as in baseball.

3) The batter can only use his bat to stop the ball hitting the wicket. If he uses any other part of his body (and the ball would have hit the wicket had he not used his shin, foot, thigh) he is out.

4) If, when the batsmen are running between the wickets, the fielding team throws the ball into the wicket, the batter is out. Think of it like getting thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Or trying to steal second base. If the ball beats you there, you are out.

Now, I've throw a few cricketing terms into a fake baseball report below. Use them in conversation, and you could pass as any colonial. Just don't ask people why they're not wearing a glove in the outfield. Your cover will probably be rumbled.

Arizona opening bowler Dan Haren dazzled the New York Mets on Monday, taking figures of 21-5 off of seven overs.

By contrast, the Mets' Nelson Figueroa never recovered from a disastrous first spell, taking just four wickets for a costly six runs.

Figueroa could find neither line nor length, struggling with bite as the D-backs won the toss and elected to bat.

Justin Upton went for a duck for the second wicket of the inning soon after when he was run out by short mid-wicket David Wright, but Mark Reynolds and Miguel Montero both hit dibbly dobblies pitched as buffet ball yorkers over the boundary for six, first over long-on and then past extra cover.

Chris Young was the next D-back to go back to the pavilion when he dollied a jaffa of a googly to mid-on, and Haren went for zero when he feathered a ball back over the top to long-off.

He should have gone moments earlier after successive deliveries had beaten the bat, but in the end the bodyline tactics forced him to dink the cherry on an off break chuck and leave the crease.

Make sense? No? Perfect.

Here's a defensive layout for a right-handed batter and a quick list of terms to help you on your way:

Bite

The turn a spin bowler is able to produce.

Translation: How much movement there is on a pitch.

Bodyline

A tactic involving bowling directly at the batsman's body, particularly when surrounded by fielders.

Translation: Pitching a batter inside to try and jam him in on the hands.

Buffet Bowling

Bowling of a very poor quality, such that the batsmen is able to "come and help himself" to runs.

Translation: Gopher ball pitchers like Eric Milton.

Cherry

The (red) cricket ball, particularly the new ball which is shinier.

Translation: Simply the ball.

Crease

One of several lines near the stumps.

Translation: It's basically the area where the batter stands, so essentially the batters' box.

Dink  

A gentle shot.

Translation: Like a pop-up or shallow fly ball or a tapper. Maybe also a swinging bunt.

Dolly  

A very easy catch.

Full Toss  

A delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing. In cricket this is considered a bad thing.

Golden Duck

A dismissal for nought (zero), from the first ball faced in a batsman's innings.

Translation: Making an out on the first pitch of an at bat.

Googly  

A deceptive spinning delivery by a bowler.

Translation: A pitch that starts on the outside of the plate and comes in across the zone. Think of a lefty throwing a slider to a right- handed batter.

Hawk Eye  

A computer-generated graphic showing the probable trajectory of the ball if it were not hindered by the batsman. Used by commentators to estimate whether a decision was correctly made by an umpire.

Translation: Like K-Zone or pitch tracker.

Jaffa

An exceptionally well bowled, practically unplayable delivery.

Translation: Think of Mariano Rivera's cutter, or just a perfect pitch that catches the corners, knee high.

Reverse Sweep  

A right-handed batsman sweeping the ball like a left-handed batsman and vice versa.

Translation: Imagine switch hitting after the pitcher has already thrown the ball to the plate.

Spell

The number of continuous overs a bowler bowls before being relieved.

Translation: How many innings a pitcher plays before getting pulled.

Stump

One of the three vertical posts making up the wicket or a way of dismissing a batsman.

Translation: This is harder to explain. It is a noun in one context but a verb in another. The wicket is made up of three posts in the ground (so imagine this as the strike zone).

Wagon Wheel  

A graphical chart which divides a cricket ground into six sectors and shows how many runs a batsman has scored into each area.

Translation: Essentially a hit chart to show batting tendencies.

Wicket-Keeper

The player on the fielding side who stands immediately behind the batter.

Translation: The catcher.

Next up is Lost in Translation: The NFL, "American" Football for the English