Wait! -- The call from one batsman to the other indicating that he should wait before running. See Calling.

Walk -- (of batsman) leave the field voluntarily when dismissed, without waiting to be given out by the umpire.

Watercooler -- What is alleged to have been placed in the dressing-room at Chelmsford to replace Graham Gooche's locker in order to eliminate bickering over who should have the retired batsman's spot, thought to have talismanic powers.

Wicket --
(a) The structure of three vertical stumps and two horizontal bails, 28 inches high by nine wide, at either end of the pitch, that it is the batsman's primary responsibility to defend.
(b) By getting a batsman out, a bowler is said to take his wicket.
(c) Term colloquially but incorrectly used to refer to the pitch.

Wicketkeeper -- A specialized fielder who stands behind the wicket to catch those balls that a batsman does not hit. To a slow bowler, he will stand immediately behind the wicket ('standing up'), in order to perform a stumping. To a fast bowler, this is too difficult and dangerous, so he stands 10-20 yards from the wicket ('standing back'), where he has more time to react. The wicketkeeper wears heavy leather gauntlets to protect his hands and pads similar to the batsman's on his shins. Although the law does not specifically prohibit it, other fielders do not wear gloves.

Wide -- A ball that passes so far from the batsman that he cannot hit it. The batsman can be out to a wide in any way that is physically possible, given that the ball may not, by definition, pass within reach of the wicket or his bat. A wide counts one run to the batting side's score. If the batsmen run, or the ball goes to the boundary, that number of wides is scored instead.

Willow -- Wood from which cricket bats are made, usually grown in eastern England, even for those bats made in other countries. Hence 'to wield the willow' means to bat.

Winning Margin -- If the side batting last wins the game, its margin of victory is expressed as the number of wickets still standing as it passes the winning target. The result of the first Test in the 1997 Ashes series was as follows:

Australia 118 and 477
England 478-9 dec and 119-1
England won by nine wickets

If the side fielding last wins the game, its margin of victory is the difference between its total of runs and that of the other side. The result of the third Test of the 1997 Ashes series was as follows:
Australia 235 and 395-8 dec
England 162 and 200
Australia won by 268 runs

Where one side's score in one innings is greater than the other's aggregate of two completed innings, the winning side is said to win by an innings and the difference between the totals. The result of the fourth Test in the 1997 Ashes series was as follows:
England 172 and 268
Australia 501-9 dec
Australia won by an innings and 61 runs.

World Cup -- A one-day international tournament held every four years. The nine Test-playing countries qualify automatically, and are joined by the top three 'minor' countries from the ICC Trophy. The World Cup was last held in England in 1999.

Wrist spinner -- Bowler who turns his wrist at the point of delivery to impart spin to the ball. This action can impart far more spin than the finger spinner, and by varying the angle of the wrist, the bowler can vary the direction of the spin, and thus the turn of the ball. (See Googly) A right-arm wrist spinner is a leg-spinner.

Wrong'un -- See Googly