Duck (cricket)

In cricket, a duck is a batsman's dismissal with a score of zero. A batsman being dismissed off their first delivery faced is known as a golden duck.

Etymology

The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began. When referring to the Prince of Wales' score of nought on 17 July 1866, a contemporary newspaper wrote that the Prince "retired to the royal pavilion on a 'duck's egg. The name is believed to come from the shape of the number "0" being similar to that of a duck's egg, as in the case of the American slang term "goose-egg" popular in baseball and the tennis term "love", derived – according to one theory – from French l'œuf. The Concise Oxford Dictionary still cites "duck's egg" as an alternative version of the term.

Significant ducks

The first duck in a Test match was made in the first Test, between Australia [cricket team|Australia] and England at Melbourne in March 1877, when Ned Gregory was caught by Andrew Greenwood off the bowling of James Lillywhite.
As of 2017, 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,
while the overall first-class record is 156, set by Worcestershire [County Cricket Club|Worcestershire] and England player Reg Perks.
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. In Australia's first innings, Bradman was bowled for a duck by Eric Hollies, causing his Test average to fall from 101.39 to 99.94; had he scored just four runs, his average would have been 100. As things turned out, Australia won the match by an innings, and so Bradman did not get to bat a second time.
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.
Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar earned the nickname "Bombay Duck" after being dismissed for ducks five consecutive times in test matches against Australia.
In a 1913 match against Glastonbury Cricket Club in Somerset, all the batsmen for Huish and Langport CC scored ducks for a total of zero runs. A similar occurrence in indoor cricket happened in Kent in 2016, when Bapchild Cricket Club were dismissed for zero against Canterbury [Christ Church University].

Rank	Player	Career
1	Muttiah Muralitharan	1992–2011	495	328	59
2	Courtney Walsh	1984–2001	337	264	54
3	Sanath Jayasuriya	1989–2011	586	651	53
4	Glenn McGrath	1993–2007	376	207	49
4	Stuart Broad	2006–2023	344	338	49
6	Mahela Jayawardene	1997–2015	652	725	47
7	Daniel Vettori	1997–2015	442	383	46
8	James Anderson	2002-2024	400	347	45
8	Wasim Akram	1984–2003	460	427	45
10	Zaheer Khan	2000–2014	309	232	44
10	Shane Warne	1992–2007	339	306	44
10	Shahid Afridi	1996–2018	524	508	44
10	Chris Gayle	1999–2021	483	551	44

Variations

There are several variations used to describe specific types of duck. The usage or prevalence of many of these terms vary regionally, with one term having different meanings in different parts of the world. Even within commentary from ESPN Cricinfo or individual cricket board websites, there is no uniform application of some of these terms.

A batsman who is dismissed by the first ball they face is said to have been dismissed for a golden duck. This term is applied uniformly throughout the cricket world.
A "second ball" duck is when a batsman is dismissed by the second ball they face, when they haven't yet scored. This is also called a silver duck. A third ball duck is appropriately called a bronze duck.
A batsman who is dismissed by the first ball of an innings is said to have been dismissed for a royal or platinum duck.
A batsman who is dismissed without facing a ball is said to be out for a diamond duck, but in some regions that term has an alternative definition. If the batsman is one of the openers, that is said to be a titanium duck. If the batsman is timed out without making it to the crease, that is known as a diamond duck or a platinum duck.

Pair

To be dismissed for nought in both innings of the same two-innings match is to be dismissed for a pair,
because the two noughts together are thought to resemble a pair of spectacles; the longer form is occasionally used. To be dismissed first ball in both innings is to suffer the indignity of making a king pair.

Related expressions

Two consecutive pairs, or four consecutive ducks, are referred to as an Audi. The expression alludes to the German car manufacturer, the logo of which is four linked rings. A player who has been dismissed for three consecutive ducks and not yet scored in a further consecutive innings is said to be "on an Audi".
Australian [cricket team in Sri Lanka in 1992|In 1992], Australian batter Mark Waugh scored successive Test pairs against Sri Lanka, and was given the temporary nickname "Audi". 2023 [Women's Ashes series|In 2023], Australian wicket-keeper-batter Alyssa Healy almost completed a Test Audi when she feathered a ball from Kate Cross towards Amy Jones during a Women's Ashes match at Trent Bridge, but Jones did not take the proffered catch and Healy went on to score an even 50.
A player who has completed an Audi and is yet to score in yet another consecutive innings is said to be "on an Olympic", an expression alluding to the five interlocking Olympic rings. In Test cricket, three players have completed an Olympic: Bob Holland, Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Asif.