Simon Hughes
Rabbit - tail-ender with little batting ability who is not expected to last long.
Retire - if a batsman retires hurt, he can resume his innings whenever he's fit to do so after the fall of a wicket. Occasionally, a batsman will be 'retired out' to give other batsman a chance – this happens in matches against lesser opposition (e.g. county matches against Oxford or Cambridge, or England tour matches against 'a President's XI'). In this case it is counted as a dismissal.
Return crease - the lines at right angles to the batting (popping) crease, stretching back behind the wicket, which the bowler must not cross with his back foot when delivering the ball.
Reverse sweep - a relatively modern shot that is played by inverting the wrists and turning the blade so the back of the bat faces the bowler, then, going down on one knee to sweep the ball on the
off-side rather than the leg-side.
Reverse swing - another recently discovered phenomenon that causes
the ball in certain dry conditions, to swing in the opposite direction to conventional swing. It generally curves more, and later in flight, than normal swing. Because of the dry, cracked nature of their pitches, and their proliferation of fast bowlers, the Pakistanis were world leaders in this art, but other countries have now caught up.
Rip - slang for spin. To 'give it a real rip', is to try to turn the ball sideways.
Rough – scuffed area of the pitch wide of the stumps created by bowlers following through. Spinners will often aim at it later in the match.
Round the wicket - a delivery from the unconventional side of the umpire that is used to try to make something happen or to left-hand batsmen so the bowler has a better view of the stumps.
Runner - a dismissed batsman who is summoned to run between the wickets for an injured colleague. He must wear exactly the same protective gear (i.e. pads, helmet, etc) as the injured player.
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Copyright © Simon Hughes 2001
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