Let's see if we can come up with a definitive list. I reckon we can reach 100 at least. One at a time though, illustrative sentences optional.
'to cart'
'For in those stately days it was considered that every off-ball must be hit to the off, every straight ball driven straight, and only the ball when pitched outside the leg stump could, with ordinary decency, be carted to the on-side'
To late-cut Has this ever been used without the adverb "deftly"?
Other good batting verbs:
To work (suggested adverb: wristily) To hoik (usually over a specific fielding position) To carve (always through/over point or gully) To blat (anywhere you like, the meaning is in the intent)
I reckon a few surnames might turn up in our definitions too...
__________________
"Much Urdu about nothing" (Vic Marks describing Inzie's press conferences)
To launch - generally limited to limited overs To push - defensive stroke gets some runs To nurdle - not used so often these days, though Nixon did his best to "keep the flame flying"
Unexamples - Oooh, he's nurdled that right out of the ground / Elegant, text-book nurdling there
__________________
You will play better Today than you did Yesterday, and almost as much as you will Tomorrow
To slog (of course, how could we ignore one of our best-loved scoring strokes) To heave (another popular one, preferably mightily) To slash (I love a good slash. Particularly outside off) To fart ("he's farted that down to fine leg")
And I leave you with some analysis of
To plonk
and
To plop
Plonking is definitely leg-side, and down. Plopping is nearly always on the off, and up. Examples:
"plonked down to fine leg", "plonked straight down long leg's throat"
"plopped up to mid off for a quick single", "plopped into the hands of extra cover"
__________________
"Much Urdu about nothing" (Vic Marks describing Inzie's press conferences)
I think I may be able to help you here, due to my fairly extensive periods in the company of Gower, Botham, Hussein et al.
In addition to the ones you find in the coaching manual (to push/drive/pull/cut etc), I'll offer up the following, most of which are followed by 'away', and often also by 'through (a fielding position or area of the field):
to navigate to steer to strong-arm to punch to tickle to guide to ease to force to flick to spoon to thunder to smash to thrash to power to jab to lift to rocket to thump to spank to nudge to flay to glide to send to deliver to clatter to smear to raise to streak to blaze to tonk to hurry to chip to carry to arrow to sneak to angle to smite to smack
I think I may be able to help you here, due to my fairly extensive periods in the company of Gower, Botham, Hussein et al.
In addition to the ones you find in the coaching manual (to push/drive/pull/cut etc), I'll offer up the following, most of which are followed by 'away', and often also by 'through (a fielding position or area of the field):
to navigate to steer to strong-arm to punch to tickle to guide to ease to force to flick to spoon to thunder to smash to thrash to power to jab to lift to rocket to thump to spank to nudge to flay to glide to send to deliver to clatter to smear to raise to streak to blaze to tonk to hurry to chip to carry to arrow to sneak to angle to smite to smack
Thundering and smiting sound like fun, though i'll admit I'm confused by how one arrows a ball somewhere.
Thundering and smiting sound like fun, though i'll admit I'm confused by how one arrows a ball somewhere.
One would tend to arrow the ball away square through the off side, especially the gully or point region. It's also commonly used when the ball is accurately delivered to the boundary between two fielders, as in "arrowed away between cover and backward point".
to bludgeon; ideally an ugly cross-bat straight swipe, missing the bowler's ear by a whispering inch or two.
another L- to loft; implies the kind of shandy contact made when chronically mistiming something shortish, and scuttling through for an undeserved single.
oh, also to swat; one of those where the bat ends up at an impossible angle, dealing with a freakish ball from a debutant bowler. Often followed by laughter and a change of batsman.
-- Edited by brazo de natillas at 22:23, 2007-09-01
to cream ("oh and he's creamed that delightfully through the covers - no need to run for that") to wallop ("well he's absolutely walloped that, straight back down the ground") to dab ("just dabs that one down to fine-leg, he wants a single, Jones a bit slow to respond, he'll have to step on it, could be a run-out here.........") to bundle ("and he's bundled that past the keeper, not quite sure how, but they'll sneak a run") to give the old heave-ho to ("well he's given that one the old heave-ho, that's gone miles up in the air, Langer's underneath it...") to dispatch (growing in popularity this one - "and he's stood up and dispatched that straight over the mid-wicket boundary...") to poke at ("and Strauss just poked at that really, easily taken by the man at silly-point")
