Duck, duck, go

It's a bird, it's a pain, it's cricket's most feared four-letter word

Deepti Unni  |  October 13, 2023

Tagenarine Chanderpaul channels Michael Jackson when trying to get out of the way of a Josh Hazlewood bouncer

Tagenarine Chanderpaul channels Michael Jackson when trying to get out of the way of a Josh Hazlewood bouncer © Getty Images and Cricket Australia

In the very mangled words of Massive Attack's biggest hit, "Teardrop", "duck, duck is a bird; duck is a doing word". And it does a lot of heavy lifting in cricket.

For starters, it's an evasive manoeuvre that's a part of every batter's vocabulary, one that you'll learn quickly if you want to keep all your teeth. And it's not exclusive to batters - close-in fielders also have to be part-time contortionists.

Short leg ducks a quacking shot by James Foster in a County Championship game

Short leg ducks a quacking shot by James Foster in a County Championship game Nick Wood / © Getty Images

During WWII, cricketers and spectators alike in London had to duck to take cover from bombers flying over the grounds. Thankfully today the most cricketers have to dodge is the occasional swarm of bees.

Bee-2 bombers: Plunket Shield players find the perfect excuse for a lie-down

Bee-2 bombers: Plunket Shield players find the perfect excuse for a lie-down © Getty Images

A duck is also a batter's least favourite number. The origin of the term for a batter being dismissed for nought can supposedly be traced back to a reference in an 1866 newspaper report on the then Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, departing for a "duck's egg" in a match (presumably taking after l'oeuf in tennis).

In 1977, Kerry Packer decided to add insult to injury for batters with the introduction of Daddles the duck, as a way to engage younger audiences. The animated duck would show up on screen when a batter departed without troubling the scorers, angrily and mournfully dragging his bat across the screen as the player exited stage left. Daddles became a beloved Australian icon but died an untimely death when cricket moved away from Channel Nine. For a long time, it was also hated by cricket purists as a symbol of everything that was wrong with Packer's revolution, a way to introduce frivolity to what was a noble game. But Tom Kerr, the cartoonist who designed Daddles, delighted in it. On his website he says, "I read somewhere that the Pommies (the English) hated it, and that is reward in and of itself."

Daddles is long gone but many approximations of the depressed duck are still occasionally seen during matches

Daddles is long gone but many approximations of the depressed duck are still occasionally seen during matches © Getty Images

But Daddles is not the most famous duck in cricket. That honour, or dishonour, goes to Don Bradman's final score in Test cricket, one that he didn't know would be his last innings. He was four runs away from finishing with a career average of 100 when Eric Hollies' googly snuck through the gap and found the off stump.

The dusk of Don: a fowl end to a legendary career

The dusk of Don: a fowl end to a legendary career © Getty Images

For a brief period of time, the duck was also a vacuum and turf drying machine, though what one had to do with the other is a mystery.

This ducking sucks: a groundsman demonstrates the vacuum with the avian name at the annual exhibition of Materials and Machinery of the National Association of Groundsmen in London

This ducking sucks: a groundsman demonstrates the vacuum with the avian name at the annual exhibition of Materials and Machinery of the National Association of Groundsmen in London © Getty Images

Before India's semi-final against Australia in the 2015 World Cup in Sydney, a fan club in Bhopal organised an event in which they fed bread to ducks in a local lake, presumably to appease the waterfowl gods and keep them away from the game. They should maybe have plumped for cake, because not only did India lose the match but two tailenders, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma, were out for blobs.

Feeding frenzy: maybe they shouldn't have cheeped out on the meal

Feeding frenzy: maybe they shouldn't have cheeped out on the meal Mujeeb Faruqui / © Hindustan Times/Getty Images

Colin Cowdrey only ever bagged a pair once, but it wasn't on the field. Here he auctions a couple of ducks in the Lord's Long Room as part of a gourmet food fair for the benefit of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council.

A bird in the hand is worth two amuse bouche

A bird in the hand is worth two amuse bouche © Getty Images

Matthew Hayden believes revenge is a dish best served with a side of seared scallops and watercress. The former Australia batter is a keen cook, with a couple of cookbooks to his name, and in 2009 he was invited to launch a restaurant in Chennai with a cooking demonstration. On the menu: tom yum soup, a trio of scallops and duck breast with sesame, plum and orange rum sauce.

Poultry portions: after years of cooking the opposition's goose, Hayden turns his attention to other birds

Poultry portions: after years of cooking the opposition's goose, Hayden turns his attention to other birds © Getty Images

Could there be a reason James Anderson isn't excited about the ducks raining down on this Lancashire team photocall?

Jimmy Anderson refuses to flip the bird

Jimmy Anderson refuses to flip the bird Martin Rickett / © PA Photos/Getty Images

A bunch of ducks in the water is a raft. A bunch of ducks on land is a waddling. A bunch of ducks in the stands is flocking psychological warfare.

If you can't beak 'em, join em

If you can't beak 'em, join em Matthew Lewis / © ICC/Getty Images

Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

 

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