Score -- A batting side's score is expressed as a total of runs scored for wickets lost, e.g. 176 for 5 or 176-5. In Australia and New Zealand, this convention is often reversed - 5 for 176. The score for a completed innings is usually written simply as a total of runs - e.g. 355, rather than 355-10 or 355 all out.

Scorer -- One of (usually) two off-field officials, whose job is to record the events of the match in the scorebook. Each side will usually supply one scorer; two scorers help each other with the identification of players and in making sure the two books agree. They are the intended recipients of the umpires' signals (with the exception of the raised finger for 'out'), and produce a summary of each batsman's innings and an analysis of each bowler's overs.

Seam -- The six rows of raised stitching around the equator of a cricket ball.

Seam bowler-- Bowling technique that causes the ball to deviate by landing the seam on the pitch.

Seamer -- See Seam bowler.

Season -- Cricket is known as a summer game, and so it is, but the wide range of climate in cricketing countries means that the timing of the season varies widely around the world. In Europe (Britain and, to some extent, Ireland, Holland and Denmark), the season begins in mid-April and extends to mid-September, with Test matches played in June, July and August. In cricketing archives, European seasons are the only ones referred to by a single year. Cricket in the the Southern Hemisphere - in South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Australia - occupies the corresponding months of the Southern summer. As in Europe, the main considerations are of firm ground and length of daylight. (See Bad light.) In tropical countries, in Asia and the Caribbean, warm weather is not usually a problem, but monsoons, hurricanes and the like can be. For this reason, the international season is usually concentrated in the early months of the year, although the domestic season extends either side of this. In all countries outside Europe, a season is referred to by the two years it spans.

Seeing it like a [insert large spherical object here] -- (of batsman) Well established and accustomed to the conditions, so that he finds the flight and speed of the ball easy to judge.

Selectors -- Members of the committee that selects a country's Test team.

Session -- One of the three periods of play, usually of approximately two hours each, on each day of a first class match.

Sheetanchor -- Variously appreciative or euphemistic term for a blocker.

Shooter -- A ball which, after pitching, travels almost along the ground. Impossible for the bowler to bowl intentionally but, when straight and fast, almost always terminal for the batsman.

Short -- Prefix added to name of fielding position, similar to 'silly'. It indicates 'close to the bat'. It's usually 'silly point' or 'silly mid-on', but 'short mid-wicket' or 'short extra cover'.

Short Run -- If the batsman fails to ground his bat behind the popping crease while making a run it is called a short run and not counted.

Shortpitched -- A ball whose length gives the batsman time to play it easily off the pitch with his weight on the back foot.

Shoulder arms -- Commentator's term for the technique of lifting the bat out of the path of a ball that the batsman judges to be safely away from his wicket.

Sightscreen -- White- or blue-painted board placed at the end of the ground behind the bowler in order to give the batsman a clear background against which to see the ball. Also target offered to bowler who is having difficulty locating the wicket.

Signals -- The means by which the umpires communicate their decisions to the scorers and players.

Boundary, four: forearm waved horizontally at waist height
Boundary, six: both arms raised above the head
Bye(s): one arm raised above the head
Dead ball: arms crossed and uncrossed below waist height, with call of 'dead ball'
Leg-bye(s): tapping a raised knee with one hand
No-ball: one arm extended horizontally, with call of 'no ball'
One short: arm extended horizontally and bent with hand touching shoulder, with call of 'one short....oi, scorers, ONE SHORT!'
Out: see Finger
Wide: both arms extended horizontally, with call of 'wide ball'
Silly -- Prefix added to name of fielding position to indicate that it is extremely close to the bat, e.g. silly mid-on, silly point.

Single -- One run, as distinct from the first of several. The seemingly obvious other forms - 'double', 'triple' are not used.

Six -- The ball hit beyond the boundary on the full.

Skipper -- See Captain.

Skier, skyer -- A ball hit so high in the air that it descends almost vertically. Especially dangerous if it comes down close to the wicket, giving several fielders the chance to assume that someone will catch it.

Sledging -- A term that originated in Australia for a practice that is probably as old as the game, the verbal abuse of opponents. Batsmen are more usually targets than sledgers, partly because they are outnumbered on the field, and partly because sledging can involve long words, which tend to frighten them.

Slip -- Fielder in catching position, behind the wicket on the off side. At Test level, this is the position for the sharpest-eyed, surest-handed men in the team. Multiple fielders may play in this position and are called 1st, 2nd and 3rd slips, with the 1st slip being closest to the wicket-keeper. See also Fielding position.

Slippers -- Rubber-soled, unspiked cricket shoes.

Slog -- Unorthodox attacking batting shot, usually played regardless of the merits of the delivery. Also used generally of the closing stages of a one-day innings, where scoring quickly is more important than conserving wickets.

Soft hands -- This is part of a batsman's defensive technique by which he allows the bat to yield on contact with the ball. The idea is that, even if the ball turns or bounces unexpectedly, an uncontrolled shot played with soft hands is less likely to carry to the close fielders.

Spell -- Sequence of consecutive overs bowled by one bowler from one end. (Interspersed, obviously, with overs by other bowlers from the other end.) A fast bowler can seldom sustain peak effectiveness for more than about ten overs, but spells of four to eight overs are more usual; slow bowlers can bowl much longer spells, although even they tire eventually.

Spin specialist -- Not a true specialist, since any batsman that can't play fast bowling is unlikely to make much of an impression, a batsman who is comfortable against the subtle menace of spin is an asset to any team.

Spinner -- A bowler whose bowling style incorporates some form of spinning the ball. See Finger spinner, Wrist spinner.

Splice -- The V-shaped join between the willow blade and cane handle of the bat.

Square -- The closely-mown central part of the playing area, from which pitches are prepared. The width of the square varies with the size and prestige of the ground, while its length, of course, is fixed at a little over 22 yds. The square at Henley is about 10 or 12 pitches wide, while a Test match ground might have the space for 20 or more.

Square (position) -- Fielding position close to an imaginary line drawn at right angles to the centre-line of the pitch and passing through the batsman's guard position. Also used to describe the location of other things such as batting shots.

Square cut -- See Cut.

Stance -- See Guard.

Standing back -- Term used to describe the position of the wicketkeeper 10 to 20 yards behind the wicket. Used with a fast bowler so the wicketkeeper has more time to react.

Standing up -- Term used to describe the position of the wicketkeeper immediately behind the wicket. Used with a slow bowler to be in position to perform a stumping.

Stock bowler -- Bowler whose primary task is to bowl a large number of overs as economically as possible. (See Economy.) Something few bowlers will admit to being (see Strike bowler) but a role that someone has to play to prevent the batsmen filling their boots on an easy pitch.

Straight bat -- The technique of holding the bat perpendicular to the ground, face to the bowler, that gives the best chance of hitting a good ball. Used as a byword for correct, disciplined batting.

Sticky wicket -- A wet pitch, drying in the sun, on which batting is extremely difficult. Rare at first-class level, now that pitches are covered. Sometimes called a 'sticky dog'.

Strike bowler -- A bowler, usually a fast bowler or an aggressive spinner, whose primary aim is to take wickets.

Striker -- The batsman facing the bowling. See also Non-striker.

Stroke -- See Batting Shots.

Strokemaker -- An aggressive, hard-hitting batsman, usually better suited to the middle of the batting order than to the top.

Stumped -- If the wicketkeeper removes a bail from the wicket with the ball, or with his gloved hand holding the ball while the striker is out of his ground but not attempting a run, the striker is out, stumped. The bowler is credited with this wicket. Only the wicketkeeper may perform a stumping: if any other fielder touches the ball, even unintentionally, the batsman is run out, not stumped.

Stumps --
(a) The three posts which hold the two bails. The bails rest in grooves at the top of the stumps. Together, the stumps and bails comprise a wicket. The three stumps are individually known as the off stump, the leg stump and the middle stump. Please see this diagram for a graphical representation of the wicket.
(b) Term used, most commonly in Australia, for the end of a day's play.

Substitute -- A fielder deputizing for a teammate who is incapacitated during the game. A substitute may not bat or bowl.

Sundries -- Australian term for extras.

Sweep -- A front-foot leg-side batting shot played with bat parallel and very close to the ground. The foot is advanced down the pitch, toe pointing towards the ball: the stroke is effected by sinking down almost on the right knee and sweeping the ball right round in the direction of long leg. Denis Crompton was acknowledged as 'King of the Sweep'. The front leg must be behind the line of the ball so that if the bat misses, the pad is there as a second line of defence. Possible only against slow bowling, and must be skilfully played to avoid giving a catch off the top edge of the bat.

Sweeper -- Modern term, scorned by the purists, for a fielder on the extra-cover boundary, usually in a one-day match, to cut off an aggressive batsman's favourite scoring shot.

Swing -- Bowling technique that causes the ball to deviate in the air. Factors that influence this deviation include: the angle of the seam relative to the travel of the ball, the relative shininess of the two sides of the ball, the bowler's arm and hand action, the hardness and prominence of the seam, cloud cover and relative humidity.

Swing bowler -- A bowler who employs swing in his bowling.