Call, Calling -- When one batsman shouts at the other to run. If the ball goes in front of the wicket, the striker calls; square or behind the wicket, the non-striker does. Better still, there are only three calls: 'Yes' and 'No' are self-explanatory; 'Wait' acts as an amber light, for example, when the ball is hit hard at a fielder, who may or may not stop it cleanly.

Cap -- In first-class cricket, the sign that a player has been recognized as a full member of that particular team. A county player is awarded his cap once he has demonstrated that he can be a regular first-team player. A Test player receives his cap when he makes his first appearance for his country. In 1997, England revived the tradition in which the captain presents the cap to the new player on the field.

Captain -- The leader of a cricket team on the field, and held by the laws to be solely responsible for his team's conduct of the game.

Carrying his bat -- Strictly, used only of an opener who survives while all ten of his teammates are out.

Catches win matches -- Schoolmaster's favourite - probably out of the same book as 'would you put your feet on the furniture at home?' Trite but true.

Caught -- A batsman is out caught if the ball travels direct from his bat to a fielder's hands before hitting the ground.

Caution -- The umpire's sanction against a bowler who infringes the provisions of Law 42, Unfair Play, against beamers, excessive bouncers and 'running on'. The bowler's first offence earns a caution; the second gets a final warning, and if he persists in offending, the bowler will be prevented from bowling again in that innings.

Century -- One hundred runs scored by a single batsman in a single innings. Multiples of one hundred are referred to as double and triple centuries. Fifty runs would be referred to as a 'half century'. While a partnership of 100 might be referred to as a 'century partnership', it would not simply be called a century. See also Hundred, Fifty.

Championships -- See Competitions, domestic.

Chance -- Opportunity to take a wicket, most often a catch.

Chinaman -- Stock delivery of left-arm wrist spinner, turning from right-handed batsman's off side to leg.

Chinese cut -- See French cut.

Clean bowled -- A term to indicate the ball passed through the batsman's defence without touching bat or body and hit the wicket.

Clothing -- Players wear white or colored, full-length trousers partly because they always have the straps of their protective equipment and partly to protect against the sun. The other essential is boots, usually with metal-spiked soles to provide a secure grip. Fast bowlers' boots are cut higher to support the ankles. Depending on the weather, players may also wear long-sleeved or sleeveless V-neck sweaters, often trimmed at neck, waist and cuffs and a coloured cap or a coloured or white sunhat.

Club cricket -- Typically used to refer to recreational, amateur cricket, although there is tremendous variation within this band of the game.

Coffin -- Elongated, suitcase-like container for carrying cricket kit. Essential for international cricketing air travel.

Coming on -- More usually heard as 'not coming on', this is a comment on the pace of the pitch, or rather, the amount of horizontal velocity the ball loses to the pitch as it bounces. A soft surface will slow the ball down more than a hard one, making it harder for a batsman to time his strokes by judging the speed of the ball from the bowler's hand. Such pitches tend to make for poor cricket, since a bad ball is more likely to go unpunished, and any deviation the bowler achieves is unlikely to happen fast enough to trouble the batsman.

County championships -- The principal competition in England is the first-class County Championship. Each of the 18 counties plays each of the others in a four-day match, earning sixteen points for a win, eight for a tie or a draw with the scores level, three for any other draw, and up to eight bonus points for first-innings batting and bowling performances.

County club -- Term usually used to refer to one of the eighteen first-class counties that compete in English domestic competitions. Another twenty counties (the Minor Counties) have representative teams, but these play mostly against one another, joining the first-class teams only in the one-day knockout NatWest Trophy competition.

The first-class counties are: Derbyshire (main venue Race Course Ground, Derby), Glamorgan (Sophia Gardens, Cardiff), Gloucestershire (County Ground, Bristol) W.G.Grace's county, Hampshire (County Ground, Southampton), Lancashire (Old Trafford, Manchester), Leicestershire (Grace Road, Leicester), Northamptonshire (County Ground, Northampton), Nottinghamshire (Trent Bridge, Nottingham), Somerset (St James Road, Taunton), Surrey (The Oval, London), Sussex (County Ground, Hove), Warwickshire (Edgbaston, Birmingham), Worcestershire (New Road, Worcester), Yorkshire (Headingley, Leeds).

County cricket -- English domestic cricket played by county clubs.

County match -- Usually used to mean a match between first-class counties in England.

Cover -- Run-saving fielding position, in front of the wicket on the off side. Hence extra cover (straighter), cover point (squarer).

Covers --
(a) Area of field guarded by cover fieldsman, hence 'through the covers'.
(b) Combination of wheeled canopies and tarpaulins used to protect the pitch and infield from rain.

Crease -- A line. See Bowling crease, Popping crease and Return crease.

Cross (of batsmen) -- To pass in mid-pitch while taking a run. Significant in two situations:
(a) Where the striker is out caught when the batsmen have crossed, the non-striker remains at the end he has run to, although no run is scored;
(b) If the ball reaches the boundary when the batsmen have crossed for an overthrow, the run in progress is allowed to count, as well as those already completed and the four for the boundary.

Close field -- The fielders who take up positions close to the batsman are said to be the close field.

Cut -- A stroke made at a short-pitched ball on the off side. The bat is held horizontally at the time of making the stroke.