When you hear that a batter has been dismissed for a ‘duck’, it would sound funny for a novice in cricket.

But for a batter, it is an insult to injury when he/ she is bowled out or dismissed without even scoring a run from bat for his/ her team. That’s the worst record for a batsman when he walks in to start his innings.

Meaning of Term – ‘Duck’

When a batter is dismissed in any form without scoring a single individual run, in batting terminology, it is called a ‘duck’. If a batter score runs in the form of leg byes, or extras, the same is not counted in the batter’s batting record.

Only runs scored from the bat can save the batter from the embarrassment of getting out for a ‘Duck’

Understanding the Term ‘Duck’ in Cricket

The term “Duck” in cricket was first used in Britain in the mid-19th Century by a Daily Times Reporter.

Edward, The Prince of Wales got out on 0 run.

The caption of the news read, “Edward returned to the pavilion for a duck’s egg”.

Starting from Zero – A batter starts from score Zero or ‘0’, and the shape of the numerical ‘0’ is similar to a duck’s egg, in cricketing terminology.

Australia and Channel Nine made the batting terminology ‘duck’ famous by inserting an animated duck on television which walked along the batter back to the dressing room thus making it the most dreaded record a batter can have.

Types of Ducks in Cricket

With the batter already termed as dismissed for a duck, the embarrassment is magnified with the various terminologies added to the types of ducks in the game of cricket. 

There are 8 types of Ducks in Batting terminology.

Regular Duck

This duck means when the batsmen get out on 0 after facing many balls in a match.

Golden Duck

When the batsman gets out on the very first ball without scoring any runs in the match, it is considered a Golden Duck.

When a batsman gets out on the very first ball without making any runs back-to-back innings it is termed a “King Pair” or “Emperor Pair”.

Silver Duck

When the batsman gets out on the second ball he faces (without making any run) is termed a Silver Duck.

Bronze Duck

When the batsman gets out on the third ball he faces (without making any run) is termed a Bronze Duck.

Diamond Duck

When a batter is out without facing a delivery is a Diamond Duck.

This happens typically on a runout.

Platinum Duck

This duck refers to when a batsman gets out on the very first ball of the inning or the very first ball of the Match.

This duck is also known as the ‘Royal Duck’.

Laughing Duck

This duck refers to when the batsman gets out on the last wicket or last over without making any runs.

Titanium Duck

This duck is similar to the Diamond Duck. The slight difference is the batter gets out on the very first ball of the team’s innings.

Famous Instances of Ducks in Cricket History

Here are some cricket players with the most ducks:

• Sanath Jayasuriya: Holds the record for the most ducks in ODI cricket with 34 ducks across 445 matches.
• Virat Kohli: Holds the most ducks of 38 in all formats among the current active international cricketers
• Zaheer Khan: Has the most ducks for an Indian cricketer with 44 ducks across 309 matches.
• Muttiah Muralitharan has also the most Golden ducks apart from the most ducks in cricket history.
• Geoff Allott of New Zealand had the longest duck in the history of Cricket facing 72 balls and was on the pitch for 101 minutes.

Impact of a Duck on Player‘s Record

Pressure on Batsman to follow

Batters are expected to score runs except for the tailenders. When the top or middle-order batters are dismissed for a duck, it puts tremendous pressure on the batters to follow

Impact on run rate

While a duck can put pressure on the incoming batters, it can also tremendously reduce the scoring rate of the batting team. The batting team will want to play safe to avoid a batting collapse as the fielding team will be on their toes and in high spirits due to the early fall of wicket.

Impacts on Match Result

The early wicket can drop the team’s score in the match and can also decrease the chances of winning.

Psychological Impact:

No batter wants to be scoreless. There are butterflies in the stomach even to the most seasoned player and will impact him psychologically if he is dismissed for a duck.

The impact of Duck creates pressure on the player to perform better in the next match which can also lead to stress and anxiety.

Impact on Career

A Duck impacts an individual’s overall batting averages and has a huge effect on the career of a cricketer especially when he is struggling with form or someone who is a new player in the squad and may have limited opportunities in the future.

Conclusion

In international cricket, 0 run is the most common score, with 11.3% of batsmen getting a duck

We at SuperSports, believe that the most famous duck in cricket is of Sir Don Bradman, who was bowled by Eric Hollies in his final Test innings on this day in 1948. This stopped ‘Don’ from having a perfect 100 as average in Test cricket.