Types of Duck in Cricket: Complete list explained (Golden, Diamond, Silver & More)

There are a few more embarrassing moments in cricket than getting out without scoring. A player patiently waits for an opportunity to go out in the middle and help his team reach a good score or chase down the target set by the opposition.

However, not every journey from the pavilion to the pitch ends well, as batters sometimes return to the dressing room rather quickly without having any runs to their names. The score of zero is called ‘duck’ in cricket and is a shortened version of "duck's egg", a phrase that was in use even before the advent of Test cricket.

One of its earliest recorded uses was on 17 July 1866, when a newspaper reported that the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) had returned to the pavilion for a score of zero, calling it a "duck's egg".

The expression is believed to have originated as the number 0 closely resembles the shape of a duck's egg. While scoring a duck is embarrassing in itself, there are different kinds of duck, which are seen as even more ignominious.

Here are the different types of duck in cricket:

Duck - A batter is dismissed for 0, regardless of how many balls they faced.

Golden Duck - A batter is dismissed for a duck off the first ball they face.

Silver Duck - A batter is dismissed off the second ball they face without scoring. (An unofficial but commonly used term.)

Bronze Duck - A batter is dismissed off the third ball they face without scoring.

Diamond Duck - A batter is dismissed without facing a ball. This can happen through a run-out at the non-striker's end, being run out backing up, or retiring without facing a delivery.

Royal Duck - A batter is dismissed off the first ball of the innings, meaning they are the opening batter and fall first ball. This is also called a Platinum Duck in some countries.

Pair - A batter scores a duck in both innings of a first-class or Test match.

King Pair - A batter records golden ducks in both innings of a first-class or Test match.