What it means To play with a straight bat

Do not use it to describe A player thanking god for his success

Also do not use to describe A player thanking his mummy for supporting him

What it means In danger of losing

What it can also be used to explain The getaway plan in the Great Escape

What it shouldn't be used to explain The direct correlation between drinking beer and making trips to the rest room

What it means The wicket had a fair bit of pace and carry

As in "It was a good wicket. The ball was coming nicely on to the bat. I could score a few runs. The boys chipped in. It was good cricket all round"

What it really means This is the post-match chat, you're Ravi Shastri. What else can I say?

What it means Heaves wildly

Often accompanied by "And holes out at deep midwicket"

What it doesn't mean IPL franchisee stocking the side with fatties at the auction

Variation He makes his own rules

So that rules out future careers in The BCCI, the WICB, the army and Dungeons and Dragons

What it means It's a four

Who else is participating in the race A fielder, usually a reluctant one

The question then on everyone's mind Can the ball beat the tortoise?

What it means Easy pickings

What's usually on said buffet Pies, mostly

Shouldn't that be pieces of cake then, if it's easy Don't ask us, we don't make the rules

What it means The bowler is bowling short balls at you

Sounds the chin's likely to make if hit "Crunch", "Wham" "Thwack"

Also the original soundtrack for Jaws

Used as justification for Batsman playing unaccountably slowly or otherwise strangely

Used to Fill up airtime when the commentator does not know what the batsman is doing

See also There's method in his madness

What it means A hoick, inevitably ugly, that falls safe

In other words Yes, Siva, it's fallen in "no man's land"

In other other words Yes, Siva, he's not "found the fielder"

Does that mean We should have "Mind the gap" posters on the boundary boards?

What it means The keeper has held on to a nick off the bat

Where it stands on the dramatic effect scale Above "That's out" and "The keeper's dunnit" and below "Got im!" and "He's a goner"

What it means when a commentator says it This is me being an impartial observer

When a captain says it I am now going to sledge my team but I'll be subtle about it

When a bookie says it I owe the mafia a ton of money

When a board official says it I know it's the players who won the World Cup but I'm going to hog the stage anyway

What it means Score runs

What it really means I am a closet ventriloquist

What the bat would say if it talked Man, my neck hurts

Aka The dive a fielder pulls out after the ball has passed him on the way to the boundary

Does not apply to Sourav Ganguly, who falls over the ball regally

But why despair? To go with the emotion induced in listeners when they hear the phrase

Who is Sehwag the batsman

Also A blackjack dealer, a mason, an alcoholics anonymous class, and Sreesanth the bowler

What it is means An easy catch

Not to be confused with An airborne sheep.

What it proves when seen in conjunction with the Australian fondness for barbies Cricketers are a bunch of little girls at heart

Also see Lollipop

In other words Get a move on

What it really means After groping about like a molester for half an hour, the batsman has french cut one for four. Viva scoring rate! What its usage proves Yes, Ravi Shastri is a medieval dungeon master

What it means A set of skills

What you want to ask the people who use it Where did you learn your skill sets from?

So it's used by Coaches of the 21st century

Also known as Middling the ball

What it means A batsman who's batting well

What it doesn't mean An iPad that works

Used for A proactive captain

What the commentator using it thinks Battle analogies are so rad

What we think Sounds like our badly behaved dog who takes us for a walk rather than the other way round