Overused terms in cricket journalism/writing/punditry

[Starfighter]

Granted, this does probably go more for sports writing in general, but being only interested in cricket, a couple I've noticed:

Star: any cricketer who's ever appeared on television is a 'star'. Now I suppose that is further than 99.9% of cricketers, but are Joe Mennie and Peter Haztoglou really cricket stars? How many ordinary people could name them the week after seeing a match with them? It's like they needed a default word and thought 'cricketer' wouldn't do. Biggest offender is Fox Sports by far.

Famous: any somewhat unexpected victory, especially an upset, is 'famous'. Most recently applied to last night's Bangladesh vs Scotland match. Let's see if it's still remembered in a year's time (or more) before calling it 'famous'. A better word is 'remarkable' or similar.

 

[Teja.]

Genius has to be biggest. It's almost never used correctly (if a bit hypoerbolically) for triumphs of strategy or out-of-the-box thinking but is used for the successful execution of brute force guaranteed triumphs such as the ball which turns more than expected to get a wicket or an unplayable 150 kph yorker which splits a batsman open.

 

[NotMcKenzie]

Star: any cricketer who's ever appeared on television is a 'star'. Now I suppose that is further than 99.9% of cricketers, but are Joe Mennie and Peter Haztoglou really cricket stars? How many ordinary people could name them the week after seeing a match with them? It's like they needed a default word and thought 'cricketer' wouldn't do. Biggest offender is Fox Sports by far.

To be fair to the television in people, in the case of those who play for the better Melbourne Big Bash team, they are a 'Star'.

 

[Chubb]

Jarrod Kimber. Writing all his articles. In really short sentences.

English cricket journalists panicking and writing we're-all-doomed pieces every time England lose a game (or even just lose a wicket ).

I would add, I used to be a journalist and I have been in the press box during a "humiliating" England defeat and they really do all line up to write the most negative, catastrophising story possible.

 

[Prince EWS]

Intent

 

[anil1405]

I was thinking about these overrated jargons yesterday when Anjum Chopra called Mahedi Hasan a great All-Rounder. I mean I don't know if she even got Mahedi Hasan and Mehadi Hasan Miraz mixed up but either way none of them are great ARs anyway. Them being called ARs itself is questionable.

 

[Athlai]

Scotland won't be forgetting that win anytime soon

 

[Starfighter]

Scotland won't be forgetting that win anytime soon

The team and all 47 people in Scotland who follow cricket. I have a slightly higher bar for famous.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Ramiz Raja used to call every single boundary line a ‘fence’

 

[Athlai]

The team and all 47 people in Scotland who follow cricket. I have a slightly higher bar for famous.

L&P marketing hasn't jaded you

 

[_00_deathscar]

Genius has to be biggest. It's almost never used correctly (if a bit hypoerbolically) for triumphs of strategy or out-of-the-box thinking but is used for the successful execution of brute force guaranteed triumphs such as the ball which turns more than expected to get a wicket or an unplayable 150 kph yorker which splits a batsman open.

Best one I’ve seen in very recent times was the genius ball from Bumrah to Ollie Robinson.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Do writers still use "nicking off"? I'd never heard anyone use that when I was a kid and then all of a sudden people kept saying it.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

L&P marketing hasn't jaded you

L&P is really not known here in Australia. I have only ever seen it on sale once here, in some local asian deli of all places, fwiw it was actually pretty good


On topic, a five wicket haul being called a "Michelle" always makes me cringe

 

[TheJediBrah]

Ramiz Raja used to call every single boundary line a ‘fence’

This is standard in a lot of places tbf. "Fence" is just another word for boundary.

 

[_00_deathscar]

Do writers still use "nicking off"? I'd never heard anyone use that when I was a kid and then all of a sudden people kept saying it.

Kohli has entered the chat

 

[social]

Do writers still use "nicking off"? I'd never heard anyone use that when I was a kid and then all of a sudden people kept saying it.

Pretty common in England many years ago

Other countries just adopted it

 

[BoyBrumby]

Pretty common in England many years ago

With our top order nicking off is still quite in vogue, tbf.

Warne, although one hesitates slightly to call him a pundit, is very fond of "natural variation" to describe the spinner's break that doesn't turn.

 

[Pothas]

Intent

I feel its close relative 'busy' is more common now but that might just be because most cricket I have watched this year has been Joe Root batting.

 

[Prince EWS]

I feel its close relative 'busy' is more common now but that might just be because most cricket I have watched this year has been Joe Root batting.

"Intent" usually gets wheeled out when there apparently isn't enough of it.

 

[Pothas]

"Intent" usually gets wheeled out when there apparently isn't enough of it.

True. Intent has a wider usage as well, you can't be 'busy' when bowling.