Rundell's first sighting of jaffa is from 1994. The J section of this edition has been expanded to include both jaffa and jag back which did not make the earlier version.
I was also keen to add my tuppence-worth to cricketing etymology.
Most new cricketing terms seem to emanate from professional cricketers themselves, then spread from the dressing room via the media to the stands and the village green. He got very sniffy, did Rundell, and told me there was a big difference between language and in-group jargon. For instance: dot-job n (usually effing dot-job) A cricket match so close that even the journalists present have to start making a note of every delivery, including the dot balls. When I was asked to write this foreword, I became very enthusiastic - as a fan of the first edition - and anxious to make a few contributions from my years in the press-box. The explanation is here: the book is peppered with potted histories of the game's terms that will fascinate anyone who relishes cricket in all its richness. There can be hardly anyone alive who has not read Rundell and is aware that middle-wicket is not remotely the same as mid-wicket. Rundell's dictionary works both for the tyro follower of the game (perhaps a bit confused by commentators' terminology) and the supposed expert. There are a great many points of interest for anyone who enjoys cricket to stop off en route and linger a while. This new edition, published under the Wisden umbrella, still starts from ACB, although these days the initials have only historical significance, but our new destination is zooter, a word that only came into common parlance with the advent of Shane Warne. Twenty-one years ago, when his Dictionary of Cricket first appeared, he took us on a journey of extraordinary erudition from ACB to yorker. And in Michael Rundell it has found the man. In addition to all its other arbiters, cricket obviously needs a kind of fifth umpire: a professional lexicographer.
I remember once spending an afternoon at a rather dull county match discussing how to describe the precise difference between a pull and a hook. And the differences between many of these strokes is a matter of arguable nuance. For the definition of ramp and flamingo, look within. Text typeset by A & C Black Printed in Spain by Graph圜emsįoreword Can any sport have a richer vocabulary than cricket? Equestrianism must be a contender (there are more than 50 different types of bit you can stick in a horse's mouth) and maybe motor racing - but surely no other ball game? Even baseball has only three or four ways of actually hitting the ball, whereas cricket has a couple of dozen at least, and new ones keep being invented. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the publishers A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10: 0 7136 7915 8 ISBN-13: 7915 1 eISBN-13: 978-1-4081-0161-2 This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed, sustainable forests. The Wisden Dictionary of Cricket Third editionįirst edition published 1985 by George Allen & Unwin Publishers Ltd Second edition published 1995 by Oxford University Press Third edition published 2006 by A & C Black Publishers LtdĪ & C Black Publishers Ltd 38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB © Michael Rundell 2006 Photographs © Patrick Eagar (All rights reserved.