The Ashes originated as a result of a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after a match at The Oval in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English press dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes. During that tour a small terracotta urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The urn is reputed to contain the ashes of one or two bails. Asking rate
see required run rate

Attacking field
A fielding configuration in which more fielders are close in to the pitch so as to take catches more readily, at the risk of allowing more runs to be scored. Attacking shot
An aggressive or strong hit by the batsman designed to score runs. Audi
Two consecutive pairs, or four consecutive ducks. The term alludes to Audi, a German car manufacturer, whose logo is four linked rings. Average
1.  see batting average
2.  see bowling average

Away swing
see outswing

B
Back foot
1. When batting, the foot that is closest to the stumps. For a right-hand batsmans stance, the back foot is the right foot; for a left-hand batsman it is the left foot. 2. When bowling, the foot which contacts the ground before the front foot i.e. the back foot is the second contact before the ball is released.
Cow shot
a hard shot, usually in the air, across the line of a full-pitched ball, aiming to hit the ball over the boundary at cow corner, with very little regard to proper accepted technique. A type of slog. Crease
a straight whitewash line painted on the pitch near the stumps. At each end of the pitch there are four creases: the popping crease, bowling crease and two return creases. The word crease without further qualification refers either to the popping crease or to the region beyond it. The creases are used to adjudge whether a run has been completed, a batsman is run out, the delivery is a no-ball or wide etc. Cricketer
a person who plays cricket. Cross-bat shot
a conventional shot played with the bat parallel with the ground, such as a cut or a pull. Also known as a horizontal-bat shot, it is generally considered a potentially risky option for batsmen. Cross the rope
To cross over the boundary rope. Often said of batsmen who are beginning or resuming an innings, players entering or exiting the field to begin a session of play, fielders attempting catches, and the ball when the batter scores a boundary

Cut
a shot played square on the off side to a short-pitched delivery wide of off stump. So called because the batsman makes a "cutting" motion as they play the shot. Cutter
a break delivery bowled by a fast or medium-pace bowler with similar action to a spin bowler, but at a faster pace.