Duck (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero. The name is believed to come from the shape of the number "0" being similar to that of a duck's egg, an alternative version of the term given by the Concise Oxford Dictionary.^{[citation needed]}

Players who are dismissed by the first ball they face are said to have been dismissed for a golden duck.^[1] Players who are dismissed without facing a ball (usually run out) are said to be out for a diamond duck ^[2]. This is not to be confused with a platinum duck or royal duck, which refers colloquially to a batsman who is out on the first ball of a match. Silver duck^[3] refers to a batsman who gets out on the second ball he faces without scoring a run.

To be dismissed for nought in both innings of the same two-innings match is to be dismissed for a pair,^[4] because the two noughts together are thought to resemble a pair of spectacles; the longer form is occasionally used.^[5] To be dismissed first ball in both innings (i.e., two golden ducks) is to suffer the indignity of making a king pair.^[1]

The first duck in a Test match was made in the very first Test of all, between Australia and England at Melbourne in March 1877, when Ned Gregory was caught by Andrew Greenwood off the bowling of James Lillywhite.^[6] As of 2007, the record for the most ducks in Test cricket is held by West Indies player Courtney Walsh, who was out for nought on 43 occasions,^[7] while the overall first-class record is 156, set by Worcestershire and England player Reg Perks.^[8]

One particularly high-profile example of a duck came in 1948, when Don Bradman was playing his final Test match for Australia, against England at The Oval. As things turned out, Australia won the match by an innings, and so they (and therefore Bradman) did not get to bat a second time. Had he scored just 4 he would have finished with a career Test batting average of 100, but that duck meant that in fact he ended with an average of 99.94.^[9]

In the first test of Australia's tour of India in 1986, with the cumulative scores tied, Indian tailender Maninder Singh was trapped LBW by Greg Matthews for a four ball duck, ensuring just the second tied test in Test Cricket history.

• names for the number 0
• Pairs in test and first class cricket
• Golden sombrero, an equally inglorious batting feat in baseball