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getting out on duck on the very first ball in both the innings of a test match is called a spectacle (two circles)
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Golden balls
By Ian last year, at the end of May Leave a comment on this post
Gutted about the latest no-show from the West Indies, although I guess that if England can’t win a Test match in early season freezing Headingley against a team of under-prepared novices from the Caribbean, then we never will. Hardly a level playing field.
Of course, it wasn’t just England handing out a thumping this weekend. India gained some sort of revenge for the ignominious defeat at the World Cup, by dismantling Bangladesh. At 408 for 0, has there ever been a worse decision to bowl first? (Well, yes, Nasser, probably…)
My sympathies go to Javed Omar. A first ball duck is never a good feeling, as I reminded myself in a 20-20 match last week. I’ve earned the Primary Club tie on my mantlepiece many times over (five, at least), but I’ll put another note in their online bucket (www.primaryclub.org) for good measure. I’ve also got two diamond ducks (first ball of the innings) on my CV, which is enough disappointment for one lifetime, I hope. Can anyone better that?
Poor old Javed can, I’m sure, as he bagged two in the match. Has that ever happened before? In fact, what do you call that? Is it a King Diamond Pair? Or a Sapphire Pair? Did anyone see the commentary – I suspect someone answered that at the time?
Tags: england, javed-omar, king-diamond-pair, primary-club, West-Indies-in-England |
17 Responses to “Golden balls”
May 29th, 2007 at 3.07 pm
May 29th, 2007 at 5.13 pm
A few seasons ago I managed 5 consecutive ducks (termed an olympic - 4 ducks is an Audi) by contriving to fail in any manner of ways:
Bad LBW decision
Amazing diving catch
Try to leave everything
Try to hit everything
etc etc
This was followed by a match-winning 50 at batting at #7.
Ah cricket… misery is always close by.
May 29th, 2007 at 10.05 pm
The commentators called it a King Pair, although a Spectacle is far funnier. Poor Javed Omar was unlucky, I think - for the second one he really didn’t seem to have caught an edge.
May 29th, 2007 at 11.19 pm
A Slovenian once got out first ball of a match, first game of the season, in his first outing for the team. That’s in a category of its own.
May 30th, 2007 at 12.08 am
There is one thing worse than getting out on the first ball of the innings…
Getting out on the first ball of the innings when you are the non-striker…. Black Duck…. Run-Out without facing a ball….
Thank god i have never experinced a black duck, but as an opener, i have manged 1 or 2 diamonds 
:( And seeing as i still have 30 odd years left of a cricket carear there is probably more to come 
May 30th, 2007 at 1.09 am
I think a diamond duck is when you get run out without having faced a ball. I’ve never heard of a black duck.
May 30th, 2007 at 6.00 am
I’ve been giving this matter some thought, and I’ve decided that the best name for a pair of Diamond Ducks simply has to be “Earrings.”
May 30th, 2007 at 11.30 am
Its Black in some places and Diamond in others, but seeing as Ian reffered to Diamond ducks as first ball on innings, i figured i would use black as not to complicate things 
May 30th, 2007 at 11.36 am
I was once opening the batting at school (low quality, Wednesday afternoon match, hence I was opening with my good friend Amit). I defended the first ball I faced. As I looked up I saw Amit, 3 quarters of the way down the track, trying for a ludicrous single. Naturally I stayed firmly rooted in my crease and he was run out by about 25 yards (his momentum having taken him past me, and he carried on towards the pavillion). I think we decided at the time that this was a Diamond Duck, not that I could contribute too much to the debate, as I was laughing too much.
May 30th, 2007 at 12.30 pm
it was the bad luck . getting out on duck brings disappointment. if this happens with him again and again then it affects his carrier. therefore batsman need to concentrate in starting so that he could be in confidence position.
May 30th, 2007 at 12.33 pm
Im guessing you went on to smash 100….
May 30th, 2007 at 12.42 pm
Nope. I can’t remember what happened (it was about 15 years ago), but I imagine that I had a massive mow at a straight one having scored not many at all…
May 30th, 2007 at 1.32 pm
Guys, we scorers have a special gold pen for such occasions.
Out for 0 is a duck. Most websites have a little bird emoticon for this. We just write o
May 30th, 2007 at 3.15 pm
Either way, it’s pretty darn awful. As it happens, before my golden duck last week, their cover fielder could have run me out the ball before, as I was called through for a suicidal single. Then it would have been a black duck, right?
Their fielder shied at the stumps and missed. Shame, because then I could have felt aggrieved and indignant, rather than inept and hollow.
May 30th, 2007 at 7.36 pm
I have not scored a run since 2005 and its begining to worry me - although I have only played 2 games since then the pressure is getting immense.
Usually a bad trot is measured in games not years.
I’ve got a game next week and intend to run like hell if I manage to get bat on ball.
I used to be a reasonable batter - but the lack of play and increasing age is now clearly taking its toll. Folks I can’t tell you how depressing that realsiton is - I now know I will not play for England.
May 31st, 2007 at 5.41 am
I am an old fashioned fast bowler who has modelled himself on Courtney Walsh. Sadly, my batting too is modelled on him:-(. However, in one of our office games, I smashed 18 of 7 balls including 2 4s while chasing a huge score. The fact that we had all but lost the game and it was their batsmen who were bowling should not take any credit from me:-). Incidently, those were the first runs of my cricket career playing with a proper cricket ball (In tennis ball cricket, I am an accomplished opener).
June 16th, 2007 at 2.06 pm
Another first ball of innings (and match) duck…
This time Darren Ganga is the unlucky one…
