What is cricket? Glossary of key terms including shot types, bowling styles and jargon busting

What is cricket?

Cricket is a team game and has many formats. Test matches last five days, while a game of The Hundred lasts about two hours.

It is a very social sport and cricket clubs are a great community to meet new people, have fun and try new skills. Here's the Tailenders' team to explain a bit about the formats...

There are three main elements to a game of cricket: batting, bowling and fielding. These are individual skills within a team game, which makes cricket so unique.

It is traditionally played with 11 players a side, but it is not always about traditions. You can play it anywhere and with anyone - it is a game for all.

The simplest way? Just grab grab a bat and ball, fashion some wickets - a bin, a traffic cone, lines marked on a wall - whatever you like to create a target for the bowlers and something to defend for the batter and have some fun. You decide how long you want to play.

Launched last year in time for The Hundred, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have a Countdown Cricket app which allows you to quickly and easily score a match of countdown cricket. It's fast, simple and made for all skill levels. It's available for download on Apple and Android.

If you're looking for some organised schemes to learn the game and have some fun while you're at it, here are a few suggestions:

How do I get my child into cricket?

There are lots of different options based on ability, age or cost. Here is a simple guide if you are not sure where to start.

• All Stars Cricket is delivered by cricket clubs across England and Wales for children aged 5-8 that focuses on fun, skills and development. It's an eight-week programme and clubs choose when to run the sessions, so check availability near you. There is a cost, so check with your club, and each child is given a bat, ball, bag and personalised t-shirt, so there is no need to worry about buying separate equipment

• Dynamos Cricket can be played by newcomers or those who have previously played All Stars. It consists of six 60-90 minute sessions for 8-11 year olds. As with All Stars there is a cost, and each child gets a personalised t-shirt included and a digital app to download

• Chance to Shine is a charity bringing cricket to schools through specialist coaches delivering weekly sessions for six weeks. The coaches can then provide information about local clubs for children if they are interested

• Chance to Shine Street is a fast-paced game, 6 players per team and 20 balls per innings. The game is played in small enclosed areas using a tapeball - a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape. It's perfect for areas where there is a lack of accessible clubs and green spaces

• Wicketz, Table Cricket and Super 1s provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with disabilities the chance to enjoy cricket, delivered by The Lord's Taverners to make the game more accessible and inclusive for all.

What if I want to get into cricket as an adult?

Cricket is for everyone, transcending age, gender, race, and ability.

If you used to play and are looking to get back into it, or simply fancy giving it a try, local cricket clubs are a great starting point.

Make sure you find the right fit for you in terms of location, accessibility and cost. Find your local club or playing opportunity in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Women's Softball Cricket is a great starting point for women new to the game, as women's only teams can be harder to find. Clubs host festivals and other teams can enter, or you can enter by yourself or with some friends and join a team on the day. It is for all ages, all kit is provided and you get given a free t-shirt to keep.

Dream Big Desi Women is a way to start your volunteering journey. The ECB is taking cricket to non-traditional locations, including faith centres and community settings, and signing up hundreds of South Asian female volunteers to get involved.

What kit will I need?

The amount of kit needed to play cricket can sometimes be off-putting. The Lord's Taverners' Sports Kit Recycling scheme provides second-hand kit for young people in need.

Lots of clubs have second-hand kit available to use or borrow, so do not feel like you have to buy everything before you go. Older kids will also grow out of their equipment so if you have a young child, there is often lots of second-hand kit on offer. This is more cost efficient and eco-friendly so it is always worth asking coaches and other parents about this option.

It's a whole new language

Cricket is really a simple game (promise) but we know there can be a lot of jargon with so many different terms and names for things that it can feel a bit impenetrable. To help we've pulled together some of the more common ones. Starting off with batting shots and bowling styles...

Main cricket shots

Drive - played by swinging the bat vertically and hitting the ball along the ground with a smooth swing to follow through

Hook shot - the ball has bounced up to chest height and the batter plays with a horizontal bat to 'hook' the ball to square leg or behind

Pull shot - cross-batted shot played with a horizontal bat to a ball that has bounced to waist height

Ramp - a sort of scoop shot where the batter flicks the ball backwards over their head and past the wicketkeeper

Switch-hit - a right-handed batter completely swaps their hands around to play like a left-hander (or vice-versa left-hander changes to right)

Sweep - batter gets down on their knees for a cross-batted shot to a low-bouncing ball

Reverse sweep - a cross-batted sweep shot played in the opposite direction to the standard sweep

Bowling styles

Seam/pace - Sometimes referred to as fast bowlers, their focus is often more on the speed they are bowling at. In men's cricket, a fast bowler would bowl upwards of 80mph and in women's cricket it would be around 65-70mph. Pace bowlers also look to swing the ball - where it moves laterally in the air before it bounces. Inswing will move the ball in towards a right-handed batter, while outswing will move away from the bat. Pace bowlers also often use the seam on the ball to move it around once it has hit the pitch. Holding the ball in different ways affects how the ball will behave once it hits the pitch and reaches the batter.

Off-spin - Spin bowling is slower and the bowler's aim is to get the batter out by spinning the ball after it bounces to deceive them. Off-spin bowlers will spin the ball using their fingers and get the ball to deviate in towards a right-handed batter, or away from a left-hander. Sometimes the ball will not spin much depending on the pitch, but it can still be a very effective way of bowling because it is slower, which tests the batter's patience

Leg-spin - A very difficult skill to do well because it involves bowling the ball out of the back of your hand to get the ball to spin away from a right-handed batter. It is different to off-spin because the bowler uses their wrist to spin the ball instead of their fingers. It is less common because of its difficulty.

Busting that jargon:

Average - both batters and bowlers have an average. Batting average is worked out by the number of runs scored divided by the number of times a batter is out i.e if they score 100 runs and they are out four times their average would be 25, if they had been dismissed three times their average would 33.3. The higher their average the better they are performing. Bowling average is worked out by dividing the number of runs a bowler concedes with the number of they wickets they take - the lower their number the better they are performing

Bouncer - a ball that is pitched short and passes the batter at chest height or above

Bye - a run scored that hasn't hit the bat or any part of the batter's body

Dead ball - a state in play when players can no longer score or perform any active parts of the game

Declaration - when the captain ends a team's innings before all 10 wickets are lost

DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method - a mathematical formula used to determine a score when rain interrupts play in limited-overs cricket

Duck - batter is out for nought

Economy rate - the average number of runs conceded by a bowler per over

Extras - runs not scored off the bat. These can be byes, leg byes, wides or no-balls

Four runs - When the ball bounces or touches the ground on its way to the boundary (the rope or foam which encircles the entire playing area)

Full toss - a ball that reaches a batter without bouncing. Dubbed a beamer if it is above waist height

Googly - a leg-spinner's variation that turns away from a left-handed batter or into a right-handed batter

Hawk-Eye - technology used to track the line of the ball. By tracking the trajectory of the ball, it tells us where it pitched and whether it might go on to hit the stumps during an LBW review.

Leg-before-wicket (LBW) - the ball hits the body (usually the pad) in line with the stumps and would have gone on to hit them. You can't be out if the ball pitched outside the line of leg stump or if it hits you outside the line of off stump unless you are not offering a stroke

Leg-bye - runs are scored when the ball deflects off the pad and the batters run or it goes to the boundary

Maiden - an over from which no runs are scored

Mankad - a somewhat controversial dismissal. The bowler dismisses the non-striker when they run up to bowl and instead of bowling they remove the bails

Net run-rate (NRR) - statistical method used to separate teams with equal points in a tournament format. Average runs per over scored by a team minus the average runs against them

Nightwatchman / Nightwatcher - a non-batter who is promoted up the order nearer the close of play to protect recognised batters

No-ball - an illegal delivery. Most commonly called when a bowler has overstepped. The batting side are awarded one run and the bowler must bowl it again. In one-day and T20 cricket it results in a free hit next up, which means a batter cannot be out from that delivery.

Off side - the side of the pitch which is to the same side as the batter's bat.

On side - the side of the pitch which is to the same side as the batter's leg. Also known as leg side.

Powerplay - a set of overs with specific fielding rules in limited-over cricket. Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. In a T20 this is for the first six overs while in a 50-over game it is the first 10 overs

Run-rate - the average number of runs scored per over

Six runs - When the ball doesn't bounce or touch the ground on its way to the boundary (the rope or foam which encircles the entire playing area). Usually the ball ends up in the stands

Slower ball - delivery that is slower than usual in order to deceive the batter in the hope they will play early at the ball

Strike-rate - The average amount of runs scored by a batter per 100 balls. If it's a bowler, it's to calculate how many balls it takes them to take a wicket on average, every 100 balls

Swing - when the ball arcs through the air and deviates off its apparent line. Can also be reverse-swing

Tailender - player who bats lower down the order and is not renowned for their batting prowess

Umpire - The person who decides if a batter is out and who also adjudicates on bowlers, extras, fours and sixes etc. There are two umpires on the field of play - one at the non-striker's end and one at square leg. The third umpire is in the stands and watches television replays to advise if a batter is out or not out

How a batter can be out

There are 10 ways a batter can be out - five are very common and five very rare.

More often than not a batter will be caught, bowled, given leg before wicket (lbw), run out or stumped (batter moves out of their ground and wicketkeeper removes bails with the ball in their hand)

The five other ways to lose your wicket range from the uncommon to the almost unseen.

The uncommon methods, but not unheard of, are hit wicket - when a batter removes his or her own bails, usually accidentally - and handled the ball, when they handle the ball without permission from the fielding side.

The almost unseen are hit the ball twice (also known as 'double hit') - as it suggests, deliberately hitting the ball twice; obstructing the field - when the batter prevents fielders from executing a run out or a catch; and timed out, which is when a new batter takes too long to appear on the field.

It's worth knowing however that for the batter to be given out, the fielding team have to appeal to the umpire by asking "how's that?" which is often shortened to "howzat".