The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began. When referring to the Prince of Wales' score of nought on 17 July 1866, a contemporary newspaper wrote that the Prince "retired to the royal pavilion on a 'duck's egg' ". The name is believed to come from the shape of the number "0" being similar to that of a duck's egg, as in the case of the Americanslang term "goose-egg" popular in baseball and the tennis term "love", derived - according to one theory - from French l'œuf. The Concise Oxford Dictionary still cites "duck's egg" as an alternative version of the term.
Significant ducks
The first duck in a Test match was made in the very first Test, between Australia and England at Melbourne in March 1877, when Ned Gregory was caught by Andrew Greenwood off the bowling of James Lillywhite. As of 2017, the record for the most ducks in Test cricket is held by West Indies player Courtney Walsh, who was out for nought on 43 occasions, while the overall first-class record is 156, set by Worcestershire and England player Reg Perks. One particularly high-profile example of a duck came in 1948, when Don Bradman was playing his final Test match for Australia, against England at The Oval. In Australia's first innings, Bradman was bowled for a duck by Eric Hollies, causing his Test average to fall from 101.39 to 99.94; had he scored just four runs, his average would have been 100. As things turned out, Australia won the match by an innings, and so Bradman did not get to bat a second time. In the first Test of Australia's tour of India in 1986, with the cumulative scores tied, Indian tailender Maninder Singh was trapped LBW by Greg Matthews for a four ball duck, ensuring just the second tied Test in Test Cricket history. Indian all-rounderAjit Agarkar earned the unfortunate nickname "Bombay Duck" after being dismissed for ducks five consecutive times in test matches against Australia. In a 1913 match against Glastonbury, Huish and Langport's batsmen all scored ducks for a total of zero runs. A similar occurrence in indoor cricket happened in 2016, when Bapchild Cricket Club were dismissed for zero against Christ Church University.
Rank
Player
Career
1
Muttiah Muralitharan
1992–2011
495
328
59
2
Courtney Walsh
1984–2001
337
264
54
3
Sanath Jayasuriya
1989–2011
586
651
53
4
Glenn McGrath
1993–2007
376
207
49
5
Mahela Jayawardene
1997–2015
652
725
47
6
Daniel Vettori
1997–2015
442
383
46
7
Wasim Akram
1984–2003
460
427
45
8
Zaheer Khan
2000–2014
309
232
44
8
Shane Warne
1992–2007
339
306
44
8
Shahid Afridi
1996–2018
524
508
44
Variations
There are several variations used to describe specific types of duck. The usage or prevalence of many of these terms vary regionally, with one term having different meanings in different parts of the world. Even within commentary from ESPN Cricinfo or individual cricket board websites, there is no uniform application of some of these terms.
Players who are dismissed by the first ball they face are said to have been dismissed for a golden duck. This term is applied uniformly throughout the cricket world.
A batsman who is dismissed without facing a ball is said to be out for a diamond duck, but in some regions that term has an alternative definition.
An opening batsman who is dismissed on the first ball of a team's innings is said to be out for a diamond duck, platinum duck or royal duck, depending upon the regional usage.
Pair
To be dismissed for nought in both innings of the same two-innings match is to be dismissed for a pair, because the two noughts together are thought to resemble a pair of spectacles; the longer form is occasionally used. To be dismissed first ball in both innings is to suffer the indignity of making a king pair.
