(a) Fielder's action in taking a position on the opposite side of the wicket from the fielder throwing the ball, in order to prevent overthrows.
(b) Non-striker's action in walking up the pitch as the bowler bowls, in order to be ready for a quick run. As the ball is in play at this point, he risks being run out if the bowler spots him out of his ground.

Backward -- Fielding position prefix indicating 'slightly behind square' - usually used only as backward point or backward square leg.

Bad light -- The law makes provision for the umpires to suspend play if, in their opinion, there is a risk of serious injury to the batsmen due to poor visibility.

Bails -- The two pegs that are held horizontally in grooves at the top of the stumps. The bails and stumps together comprise a wicket.

Ball -- (a)

Ball tampering -- There are two main forms, both of which are illegal. Some bowlers use tools or their fingernails to raise the seam, thereby making it more likely to swing. More recently, bowlers have taken to damaging the surface of one side of the ball, making reverse swing easier to achieve. It is currently out of fashion as a topic for cricketing debate, but was much in vogue following England's Test series against Pakistan in 1992, in which a ball was changed by the umpires without explanation, and also at South Africa in 1994.

Barmy Army -- England's hardcore travelling support on winter tours, readily identifiable by their red faces, bare, invariably sunburnt torsoes, beer bellies and what might loosely be called singing.

Bat -- The wooden paddle with which the batsman defends his wicket and scores his runs. The law limits its width to 4.25 inches and its length to 38 inches. There is no limit on weight, although most bats weigh between 36 and 48 ounces. The blade of the bat has a flat face, slightly rounded at the edges; the back is shaped so that the blade is only about an inch thick at the shoulders, but swells to form a hump about six inches from the toe.

Batsman -- The wooden paddle with which a player defends his wicket and scores his runs. His job is to make the maximum number of runs without getting out.

Bat-pad -- Fielding position close in on off or leg side, too close to catch a well-hit ball, but ready for one that hits the edge of the bat and rebounds from the pad.

Batting order -- The order in which the members of a team go out to bat. A batsman is referred to individually by a number, according to his position in the order. Numbers 1 and 2 open the innings (number 1 faces the first ball), number 3 comes in at the fall of the first wicket, and so on down to number 11, who comes in when nine wickets have fallen. Typically, numbers 1 to 6 are specialist batsmen, the wicketkeeper bats at 7, followed by the specialist bowlers. Top-order (1,2,3) batsmen have to be adept against pace and the new ball; 4 and 5 will often be the two most attacking batsmen, while 5 or 6 may be the best place for a 'spin specialist', who is most useful when the ball is older and the slow bowlers are in action. Below number 6, specialization ceases to matter, and the order is decided on a linear scale of ability.

Batting shots -- See Block, Chinese cut, Cut, Drive, Edge, Flash, French cut, Glance, Harrow drive, Hook, Late cut, Leg glance, Lofted drive, Pull, Reverse sweep, Slog, Square cut, Sweep.

Beamer -- A fast, head-high full toss. Beamers are dangerous, and a bowler who bowls one on purpose will be warned by the umpire and, if he persists, prevented from bowling again in that innings.

Behind the bowler's arm -- Most cricket grounds have large, white sightscreens at either end, to provide a clear, unobstructed background against which the batsman can see the ball. Anything moving in front of or close to the screen at the bowler's end causes a distraction, and play will be held up until it is removed.

Benefit -- The traditional reward given each season by an English county club to one of its long-serving players, usually in his tenth full season with the club. It consists of a season-long programme of fund-raising events, usually special matches and dinners. The proceeds are given favourable tax treatment by the Inland Revenue, since the benefit is intended to provide the player's retirement fund. The benefit system originated at a time when professional cricketers were very poorly paid.

Best bowling -- The occasion on which a bowler took most wickets in an innings, with the number of runs conceded used as a tie-breaker. So a bowler's career summary may show his 'best bowling' as six for 150, when the opposition made 600 and won by an innings, ignoring the time he took five for 25 and turned a low-scoring match in his side's favour.

Block -- A defensive batting shot, purely to keep the ball off the wicket.

Blocker -- A batsman of sound defensive technique, and sometimes little . May be useful as an opener, where his sheer stubbornness can blunt the new-ball bowling and bore the bowlers into making mistakes. Geoff Boycott (b.1940) played this role for England in 108 Tests between 1964 and 1982, making 8114 runs.

Blockhole -- The depression sometimes made in a dusty pitch where the batsmen take guard. A ball 'in the blockhole' is a yorker-length delivery.

Bodyline -- Tactic employed by England during the 1932-33 Ashes series in Australia. By setting a predominantly leg side field and having his fast bowlers bowl at the batsman's body to generate catches, England captain D.R.Jardine won the Ashes. In the aftermath of this notorious series, the law was changed to limit the number of fielders behind square on the leg side to two, to prevent further use of this tactic.

Bouncer -- A fast, short pitched ball, bowled to rise off the pitch to the height of the batsman's chest or head. Legal, and less dangerous than the beamer, but the umpire may still warn and remove a bowler who bowls bouncers merely to intimidate the batsman.

Boundary -- (a) The edge of the playing area, usually 60 to 80 yards from the wicket and marked by a line, rope or fence.
(b) A ball that crosses the boundary, scoring four runs if it touches the ground first, or six if it reaches the boundary on the full.

Bowled -- A batsman is bowled out if the ball hits his wicket and dislodges a bail. It does not matter if the ball hits the wicket direct or comes off his bat or person, he is till out bowled.

Bowling a maiden over -- To bowl an over in which no runs are scored off the bat, nor from a wide or no-ball.

Bowling, bowler, bowl -- A player who bowls is known as a bowler. Bowling is the act of propelling the ball with a straight arm towards the batsman's wicket. The ball is not thrown -- if the bowler straightens his elbow in delivery, the umpire calls 'no-ball' -- hence the need for fast bowlers to run up to 30 yards to build up sufficient speed. A fast bowler will bowl at speeds in the range of 80-90 mph. A medium pace bowler will bowl from 60-80 mph. A spin bowler will typically bowl at speeds in the range of 45-55 mph.

Bowling analysis -- The section at the bottom of the scoresheet in which each ball bowled is recorded. At the end of the innings, this data is then used to produce summary statistics for each bowler, his 'bowling figures'. The values usually given are the number of overs bowled, the number of those that were maidens, the number of runs conceded and the number of wickets taken. Sometimes these are given just as numbers, without explanation, but the sequence is always the same, so '17-5-36-3' means '17 overs, five maidens, three for 36'. Incidentally, partial overs, usually where the innings ended midway through an over, are recorded as pseudo-decimals, so '12.5 overs' means 12 overs and five balls.

Bowling crease -- One of the two transverse lines at either end of the pitch, on which the wickets are set.

Bowling figures -- A bowler's summary statistics produced at the end of an innings. See Bowling analysis.

Break -- A term used to describe the movement of the ball off a straight path on hitting the pitch.

Broken wicket -- The wicket is said to be 'broken' or 'down' when one or both bails have been dislodged from their grooves by the ball. If - for example, when the batsmen are running overthrows from a rebound - a fielder wants to break a wicket whose bails are already off, he may first replace a bail, or knock or pull a stump from the ground while touching it with the ball. See also Down wicket.

Bump Ball -- A ball that hits the ground immediately after striking the bat before rising in the air. From the comfort of the stands it is often difficult to assess whether it is a bump ball or a catch.

Bye -- Any run that is made when the ball passes the wicket untouched by the bat is a bye. If the ball is unintentionally deflected past the wicket by the batsman, other than by his hand holding the bat (or the bat itself), and runs are scored, these are called leg byes. Wides and no-balls are not byes.