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Batter or batsman? | Fielder or fieldsman?
Do you have strong feelings about this? Here at King Cricket we favour ‘batsman’ and ‘fielder’.
Why ‘batsman’?
The word ‘batter’ has plenty of meanings. It doesn’t need any more. Batter is what you dip a fish in before you fry it. Batter is what people do to you if you look at their pint funny. Also, baseball has batters and baseball is from the United States.
Why ‘fielder’?
Not sure. Because it’s slightly shorter maybe? It doesn’t really have any other meanings. Maybe that’s all it is.
Why not ‘bowlsman’?
Indeed, why not? We might start using this word.
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I’m going to start calling batsmen runsmongers.
I’ve always preferred “wicketeers”.
The baller balled well today…
There is only one rule in this, and that is tradition. Nothing good ever came of change – just ask Lesley Ash. There are batsmen, bowlers and fielders because there have always been batsmen, bowlers and fielders. If you can’t imagine WG Grace saying “batters”, don’t say it.
And another thing. Exactly the same applies to “back of a length”, “nicking off”, and “cow corner”.
“Ah yes, Carruthers. The bowlsman sent one down back of a length, which being the batter I am noted to be, I duly dispatched over cow corner for a DLF maximum. Truly a Citi Moment of Success if ever such there were. Sick.”
Are we right to hate ‘nick off’?
What’s wrong with ‘edge it’?
Surely “cow corner” isn’t new? It’s maybe become more popular in commentary owing to T20.
Was CB Fry aware of the term? Therefore it’s new.
I still believe, based on no evidence or facts, that if we did reanimate the corpse of CB then he would indeed be familiar with cow corner. The internet, which everyone knows is never wrong, suggests that the term was coined at Dulwich College when part of ground was inhabited by cows. That must have been more than 50 years ago?
Nick off? Isn’t that something Aussies tell each other to do?
I still remember Joe Mangle in Neighbours proclaiming “crikey, what a ripper!” about something good. We sat there laughing at the Aussie using a term for farting
Joe Mangle: “Aw, fair suckatha sauce bottle”
Argument won.
I’d say listen to Danny Morrison, then say the opposite, but he probably uses the proper terms. Complete with overly enthusiastic usage of the sponsors too…
Great appeal there from the man in mauve.
I also much prefer the term “good batsmanship” to plain old “good batting”
With Spartacus on Sky 1 ‘Battiatus’ could be used I suppose.
Having thought more about this I’ve decided that I might be able to accept a change, but only if the nomenclature is taken directly from a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Batsman = Blademaster
Bowler = Sling-Demon
Spin Bowler = Sling-Demon Arcana
Fielder = Defender of the Sacred Land
Wicket Keeper = Guardian of the Gate
“The Champion Blademaster of the land of those they call Kent-people, who is known as The Key, faces now the chiefest of the terrible horde of Sling-Demons of Lancastria, James son of Ander, who issues forth the Sacred Ball of Glory or Death towards the brave and unflinching Blademaster, who with dizzying speed unleashes his weapon of purest willow straight down upon the deadly orb…
…and there’s no run.”
Oh God, the comments have self-contained in-jokes now.
But at least its not a “running joke”, eh?
Eh?
Bert, this is the single greatest comment of all time.
Batsman and bowler are at least self-explanatory. If anything need be changed, it is the meaning of the word “wicket”. It should be illegal to use the same term to mean a bunch of sticks, a piece of land, and a human being.
I feel I should say something about the term ‘batsman’ being sexist to reflect the growth in women’s cricket.
Rachel Heyhoe-Flint.
Will that do?
Can we make the ‘manhole covers’ joke about female boxes now?
That’s Baroness Heyhoe-Flint of Wolverhampton to you.
Hopefully the IPL will adopt the term “Batter” and then as supporters we can look forward to yelling “Batter, Batter, Batter, Batter S-Wiiinnngggg Batter, can’t hit it, can’t hit it, can’t hit it, S-Wiiiinnnngggg batter.”
In cricket, the word ‘batter’ is not used because this is cricket, not baseball. In the IPL, on the other hand, it is not used because nobody has sponsored it yet.