h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: What's a Googly? - An Index of Cricketing Terminology - A4867446
Author: Ali Baba - U186874

Hello,

This is my first attempt at a Guide Entry so please be gentle with me!

I'm sure there are lots of style points that I've got wrong, so please let me know and I'll fix them as soon as I can.

Also I'd like to know if there are any terms that you think I've missed out, or ones that I haven't explained well (I've asked a couple of cricket novices to read it and they've picked me up on a few already).

Thanks!

This is not bad at all - I like glossaries, but I'm sad like that.

That's not to say it doesn't need some work, which I'm afraid it does. You should try to avoid duplicating any of the content of A944417, which is already in the Edited Guide. Likewise, links to this Entry and A1029250 are a must.

I think there'll probably be enough left over to make a sizable Entry. I will come back and suggest further additions in a bit.

B

Thanks Master B,

I did try not to duplicate A944417 too much (it's such a great entry) but for completeness I felt I ought to include a few of the same terms. I'll have another go at pruning!

Can't believe I missed the link to A1029250 though - whoops!

A googly is not "a weird kind of spinning delivery that looks as if it's curving away from the batsman, then curves back in4 at the last moment" btw - it's a delivery which pitches like an off-break, but is delivered with an action that looks identical (from the batsman's point of view) to a normal leg-break.

There are several first person references in the entry which will have to be removed - those aren't allowed in edited entries except in quotes.

I predict a long PR thread for this entry

Oh dear. That bad, huh?

Hmm. How to explain a googly without going into huge detail explaining off-break and leg-break? I'll have a ponder on that one. But that reminds me that I haven't tackled 'leg side' and 'off side' either. Crikey, what have I got myself into?!

Thanks for the tip on first person references - I'll get rid of those.

"That bad, huh?"

No, the entry is actually pretty good, but entries of this type - glossaries etc - always have people coming out of the woodwork insisting that you 'must include this' and that the entry 'would be incomplete without that', and 'how could you possibly have omitted the other ' This usually results in a long and protracted PR thread, so gird up yer loins

Thanks for the warning!

"Oh dear. That bad, huh?"

I think this is almost inevitable with glossaries. Everyone's going to have some term to pick at and a suggestion for what else should be included. Talking of which, here's my :

Leg/on side and off side are musts - they're very basic terms.

Extras - Don't byes and leg byes count as extras? Basically an extra is a run that isn't attributed to any batsman, because it is not the result of a batsman hitting a legal delivery.

LBW - I'd cut "leg before wicket" from the header and stick it in the definition.

Nelson - 111 runs. A double Nelson is 222 and so on. For some reason David Shepherd would hop from foot to foot when a Nelson or multiple thereof was reached.

Not Out - mention that this is also used to mean a player isn't out, for example following an appeal.

Pair - aka a pair of spectacles.

Pitch - also the ground between the wickets.

Slips - mention that these are known as "first slip", "second slip", etc. Goes up to "sixth slip" if Shane Warne is bowling.

Tailender - a member of the tail.

Blimey, I could go on for ages.

Oooh, fab. Lots of juicy terms to add - thanks!

...and thanks for picking me up on byes/extras - proving once again that I shouldn't try to make last minute changes as I always miss something bleedin' obvious.

My pleasure. Are genuinely looking for lots of extra terms, because I could definitely contribute a few more? If so, do you prefer just suggestions of terms to define or fully written out definitions?

Oh, I meant to say it's a nice entry. Useful, but also easily readable (not necessarily an easy task with lists).

Thank you

Yes, I'm definitely interested in extra terms to include - but with the (small) caveat that they have to be terms that would confuse an outsider. This started as a short(!) list for a friend to help her survive a day at Lord's so I'd like to keep that sort of emphasis rather than turn this into a full-on Definitive Guide.

As for just terms or full definitions - whichever you prefer! I'll confess that I'm still a relative newcomer to the game myself (writing this has been extremely educational) so any sort of steer would be welcome.

And what's more, the term Nelson comes about thusly: 111 - 1 arm, 1 leg, 1 eye

Okay, let's see what I can come up with. Include as many or as few as you like, and write your own definitions where you see fit.

Bat: Not just the bat, but also any glove that is touching the bat. Thus if the ball is caught after hitting the batsman's glove, the batsman is out.

Bouncer: A fast ball, pitched short, which whistles past the batsman's ear. Such intimidatory bowling used to be considered unfair play, but the laws have been revised so it is now only unfair if more than two bouncers an over are bowled.

Leg: Any part of the batsman that is not the bat.

Plumb: If a batsman is obviously out LBW, then he is plumb.

Seamer: A bowler who can bowl the ball so that it lands on its seam. This makes the bounce unpredictable, so difficult for the batsman.

Walk: A batsman who knows he is out may leave the ground without waiting for a decision from an umpire. This is known as walking and is considered good conduct. Naturally, this is rare, unless the decision is really, really obvious.

See what I mean, Ali Baba?

I think you're going to have to decide pretty quickly whether this is going to be a 'Beginners' Guide to Cricket Terminolgy' (in which case I wholeheartedly endorse the inclusion of the bit about baseball ), or an in-depth 'Glossary of Cricket Terms' (in which case the baseball reference should probably go).

*Definitely* the beginner's guide... I think I'd need another few years as a cricket widow before I'd dare attempt the full glossary!

I'd better change the title...

"Any part of the batsman that is not the bat."

What sort of strange cricketers do you hang out with?

B

Although Nelson never lost a leg...

The variations on leg spin are many and various. It is easy enough to throw a tennis ball underam and right handed to spin right to left. Turn your wrist more and you can produce top spin and then the left to right googly.

A wrist spinning cricketer can do this overarm with a cricket ball, but may pitch unreliably. Shane Warne can turn (a lot), vary, and pitch accurately.

Finger spinners (Jim Laker) tweak the ball with the finger, mostly, and are usually more accurate (right handers left to right - "off breaks"). They usually have a variant, the "arm ball" that doesn't turn (or even turns slightly left to right). Left hand finger spinners (Tony Lock) reverse this.

Muralitharan is, as far as I can work out, a wrist spinner who twists the "wrong" way and produces off breaks (and variations). Since Murali's arm is always bent (slight deformation), this action looks odd and has been questioned.