Explained: What is duck in cricket?

In a game of cricket, there are several through which a bowler can get the batter out. No batter wishes to get out without scoring a run in a cricket match. However, there are many players who are considered as legends of the game but still got out on zero several times in their cricketing career. There is a special term which is used in cricket when a batter gets out without scoring a single run in the match.

What is a Duck in Cricket? 

That popular term of cricket is known as ‘Duck’ which is used for a player when he loses his wicket on zero run. There are also several other terms for a ‘Duck’ depending upon the number of balls a batter played before getting out without scoring a run. However, have you ever wondered from where the term Duck originated in cricket and how many types of duck are there in the sport.

How did the term 'duck' originate in cricket?

The term ‘Duck” was originated in cricket from the phrase called “Duck’s Egg.” The term ‘Duck’s Egg” was very popular in the 19th century and was used to describe the number zero. The reason being simple, the oval shape of an egg which looks similar to number zero. Over the years, the term “Duck; became popular in cricket and is still used to describe when a batters gets out without scoring a single run.

Here's a list of different types of Ducks in Cricket:

Bronze Duck

The term Bronze Duck is used when a batter gets out on the third ball of his innings without adding any run on board. It is a very common type of duck where we see batters couldn’t continue their innings past three balls and leave disappointed by scoring any run.

Silver Duck

Something worse than the Bronze Duck in cricket could be the Silver Duck. The term Silver Duck is used when a batter gets out on zero on just the second ball of his innings. It is a very unfortunate dismissal where the batter couldn’t get much chance to score and ended up losing their wicket on the second ball of their innings.

Golden Duck

One of the popular terms in cricket, the Golden Duck is used when a batter gets out on the first ball he faces. No batter would ever wish to get out on a Golden Duck in their career. However, luck cannot always go in their way and several great batters have also lost their wicket through a Golden Duck at least once in their career.

Platinum Duck

Another unfortunate way to get out on a duck is the Platinum Duck. As the term Golden Duck is used when a batter gets out on his first ball, ‘Platinum Duck’ is used when a batter loses his wicket on the very first ball of his team’s innings. If a batter gets out on a Platinum Duck, it could be a big shock for his team as they would end up losing a wicket on the very first ball of the innings.

Diamond Duck

Out of all the duck dismissals mentioned above, the batters at least get a chance to face at least one delivery. However, in Diamond Duck, the batter gets out on a zero without even facing a single delivery which makes it the most unfortunate way to lose a wicket in a cricket match. A batter can get a Diamond Duck in multiple ways like a runout, obstructing the field, timed out and more. A batter would be unluckiest the day he gets out on a Diamond Duck.

Players to register most numbers of Ducks in international cricket (Tests+ODI+T20Is)

FAQs

Q.. Who is duck King in IPL?

A. Australian batter Glenn Maxwell can be named as a Duck Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he registered most number of ducks in the history of the tournament. Maxwell got out on a duck 19 times from 141 matches in his IPL career so far.

Q. How many ducks for Virat Kohli?

A. Star Indian batter Virat Kohli has registered 38 ducks in his international career so far across formats. He comes third in the list of Indian players with most ducks in international cricket.

Q. How many types of ducks in Cricket ?

A. There are five major types of ducks in cricket: Bronze Duck, Silver Duck, Golden Duck, Platinum Duck, and Diamond Duck

Q. How many ducks of MS Dhoni?

A. Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni has registered 21 ducks from 535 matches in his international career across formats from 2004 to 2019.