What it means The crowd expressed its preference by entering or exiting the stadium

Not to be confused with A pitch invasion

Also not to be confused with A tap-dancers' convention

What you wish it meant Crowd's feet, Ravi Shastri's face. Get the picture?

Variation Tighten our belts

What it means We've got to do better

What it really means Believe it or not, I'm a natty dresser off the field

Suggested variations Hitch up our trousers, get rid of wedgies, tie up our shoelaces

What it means Our players played with natural flair and aggression

Generally used when

1) The team won and the captain isn't really sure how.

2) The captain has to fob off inane questions from Pommie Mbangwa at the toss

Submitted by: Prashant, India

Used in conjunction with A good headache to have

What it's supposed to mean There are so many good players, it's tough to choose between them

What it really means Everyone stinks equally badly

Also With so much knocking on the damn door, how's a selector to get some sleep?

What it implies Other players bowl very light balls. One was blown for four before the batsman hit it, in Wellington

Submitted by James Gordon, Vietnam

What it really means We like to relate to our fans who have sorry nine-to-five jobs

As in I sensed it would be a bad day in the office when Watto didn't turn up for the pre-match meeting and I caught Doug making pie-charts on the team sheet. With real pies, mind you!

Not to be confused with A retired 1970s cricketer who works for event organisers

Used when Batsmen are scoring at 5 runs per over in Twenty20, three runs per over in ODIs, or zero runs per over in Test cricket.

What it really means He hasn't got the muscle to hoick it.

Submitted by: Naresh Ranvah, UK

What it means A license to belt every ball to the fence, while completely ignoring the risks involved

What it really means He can't defend if his life depended on it

Did you know These were the only English words Virender Sehwag knew for the early half of his cricketing career

Submitted by: McGorium, United States

What it means A player who averages more than 10

What it really means Game over, folks, but let's be politically correct anyway

Implication A streetsmart operator just got out

Submitted by: Dara Singh, India

What it means Didn't give away a run off that last delivery? Well done. Here, take this knighthood.

What it really means These bling-laden West Indians are distracting me.

Implication There's a severe gold shortage in the IPL. Must be because all of it was used for the trophy.

What else is like gold A commentator who bites his tongue when a cliché pops into his head.

Variations Canny customer, smart cookie

What it means This fellow runs out all his partners, bumps into bowlers while taking runs, and sledges when the cameras aren't on him

What it also means It doesn't matter how they come

Not to be confused with A player auction

Also not to be confused with Match-fixing

What to watch out for when you hear it Ugly swipes across the line.

What it's supposed to mean We're going to see mad hoicks or wickets off full-tosses. Maybe both.

What it really means These no-talents have slipped so far behind the asking rate, it's ridiculous.

What one hopes will really give The patience of the viewers, so that they go after the commentators with an axe.

As in India have lost a vital wicket, which also happens to be the final wicket, so now they are pretty much left with no wickets

Best used before The match finishes

What it's supposed to mean It's gone for six.

What it really means Hello, my name is Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

Best rendered in A squealing singsong, rising to a fever pitch of fake excitement.

What it's supposed to mean One advantage of being fat is, you have large paws, which, in theory, should make you a good catcher

Often used in conjunction with "He's a big unit, is Freddie Flintoff"

Makes you wish A commentator would hurry up and kick one such hand one of these days

Source: The wily fox from Aesop's fables who couldn't be trusted

Disclaimer: The spinner in question can be trusted as long as he doesn't have a ball in his hand

Variations: Canny captain, happy hooker

As in: Warne is so wily he could slip one past Grandma Boycott's bat and she wouldn't know whether to say "Eeh by gum" or "Cor blimey"

What it's not Tea time

Also not Time to shoulder-barge spectators

What it is Time for a team or player to perform

So that's all the time? Er, yes

What it's supposed to mean This is limited-overs cricket. You need to be able to have a bit of a thrash at the end.

What it really means I have to tell you these things because your minds have been eroded by reality television

Makes the listener wish He had a stump in hand and access to the commentary box

What it's supposed to mean Drop one and it'll cost you

What it really means I put the dog in doggerel

Question it prompts So what about runs and wickets?