What are Golden Ducks in Cricket?
The stadium is alive with the anticipation of the first delivery. All eyes are on the pitch. The batsman assumes his posture, prepared to tackle the ball. The bowler moves forward, his gaze piercing and focused.
The ball is released and instantly becomes a weapon of mass destruction as it cuts through the air like a missile.
The batman swings the bat, but to his great misfortune, misses it. You hear the ball hitting the stumps. The batsman looks back with sheer astonishment followed by great despair.
It is his turn to experience one of the most humbling and demoralizing experiences, the Golden Ducks in Cricket, also known as the Opening Ball Wicket or First Delivery Wicket.
The drama unfolds between the audience and the commentators. The batsman is dismissed with a score of zero on the very first ball of his innings.
He walks back to the pavilion with his head hung low. On the other hand, the bowling team celebrates as though they’ve claimed victory.
Why is it called the Golden Duck?
When a batsman gets out on the first ball of their innings, his score is a big oval zero, resembling the shape of a duck’s egg.
After facing a Golden Duck on the cricket field, a zero accompanies the player’s name on scoreboards and television screens, symbolizing their contribution to the team’s overall scores.
The rarity of such an occurrence has led to the duck being called a Golden Duck. An athlete wins a gold medal when they come first. Ironically, it’s called a Golden duck when a batsman gets out on the first ball.
One of the popular theories for the origination of this term dates back to 1866 when the Prince of Wales bagged a score of nought (0) on the field.
Following his embarrassment, a newspaper described his departure from the pitch as him retiring “to the royal pavilion on a duck’s egg”, indicating a mortifying score of 0.
Goose’s Egg is another variation of the term used as slang in baseball when a team fails to score.
Types of Ducks in Cricket.
In Cricket, Duck simply refers to a batman’s dismissal with a score of zero. There are eight different types of ducks in Cricket indicating the various ways a batsman can be ‘Out for a duck’. All of these are instances of regret, remorse, and disgrace of differing severity.
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- Golden Duck– This happens when a batsman gets dismissed on the first delivery of his/her innings.
- Silver Duck– This refers to a situation when a batsman gets out on the second delivery of his/her innings.
- Bronze Duck- This is the case when a batsman loses a wicket on the third delivery of his/her innings.
- Diamond Duck- Probably the worst way to get dismissed, Diamond duck happens when a batsman gets out without facing any legal balls or a delivery.
- Royal Duck- Also known as Platinum Duck, this happens when a batsman gets dismissed on the first delivery of the first innings of a match. Tough luck soldier!
- Laughing Duck- The exact opposite of a Royal Duck, this occurs when a batsman gets dismissed with no runs and his wicket is the last of the innings.
- Pair- Refers to a situation when a batsman is ‘Out for a Duck’ in both innings of a match, irrespective of whether it is a golden, silver, bronze, or diamond duck.
- King Pair- This is a term given to a batsman when he bags two golden ducks in both innings of a match. Talk about having a bad day on the field!
History
You might think that misfortunes like these are rare in the cricketing world but the abundance of examples state otherwise.
This goes on to reiterate the unpredictability inherent in the game of cricket. Even Tendulkar, affectionately referred to as the God of Cricket hasn’t been immune to this sporting evil.
Sachin Tendulkar bagged 20 ducks in ODIs and a total of 34 ducks in the international arena. Australian cricketer Donald Bradman, referred to as the greatest batsman of all time, was bowled out for a duck on August 14, 1948, in his last test innings.
No fairytale endings even for a man who hit centuries like it was child’s play. Kohli, surpassing his senior’s record, has a total of 35 ducks to his name in 522 international matches.
Former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan holds the unpleasant, unwanted record for the most golden ducks in cricket by an Indian player in International Cricket.
Lasith Malinga, one of the greatest Sri Lankan limited-overs bowlers, stands highest in the list of the most Golden Ducks in ODI’s. He was dismissed for 13 Golden Ducks in Cricket ODI’s and 26 ducks overall in the format.
Except for a few chosen ones, the Golden Duck has been a part of most cricketing careers across the world. It is a humbling experience for even the finest, the most talented players of the game.
It tests the players’ level of mental fortitude and the ability to handle on-field pressure.
While it may be an unpleasant fate for the batsmen, in the grand scheme of things, it makes cricket a thrilling, unpredictable sport, full of drama and suspense, adding to its ever-increasing richness and making it one of the most loved and watched games of all time.
