What is a duck in cricket? Decoding different types of ducks
The terms are often used in cricket.
Getting off the mark is the first and foremost thing a batter does when he takes guard at the crease because getting dismissed for 0 could be a huge embarrassment.
Moreover, the batsman needs to be extra careful, especially while trying to take a single on the first ball because chances are high that a bowler tends to bowl a wicket-taking delivery.
So, it is essential for a batsman to get settled at the crease and try not to take calculated risks from the word go. The batsman who assesses the conditions pretty well is destined for greatness in the game.
What is meant by a duck?
We must have stumbled upon a phrase that says, “a batsman gets out for a duck”, which literally means that a batsman is dismissed without scoring a run during the game. The pressure is always there on the batsman when he arrives at the crease.
When a batsman departs for zero, we usually say he is out for a duck. There are different types of ducks in cricket and there is a different meaning for each and every duck. Various types of duck in cricketing terms include “Golden duck”, “Silver duck”, “Royal duck or Platinum duck” and Diamond duck.
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What is a Golden duck?
When a batsman gets dismissed on the very first ball without scoring even a single run, then it is called a golden duck. For the uninitiated, the phrase “Golden” denotes the first position in which one would get a gold medal in Olympics. This is precisely the reason why one would call it a golden duck when a batsman gets out on the first ball he faces without scoring a run.
Silver and Bronze duck
On the other hand, a silver duck means when a batsman gets dismissed on the second ball without scoring a run whereas a bronze duck literally means when a batsman gets departed for zero on the third delivery.
Royal and Diamond duck
When a batsman gets dismissed for a Royal duck or a Platinum duck, it means that he is out without scoring from the very first delivery of their team’s innings. On the other side of the coin, a diamond duck is a rare occurrence in the sport.
However, instances of batters getting dismissed for a diamond duck happen from time to time. A diamond duck in the bat-ball game means that when a batsman gets dismissed for ‘zero’ before he even faced a delivery.
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