Sports / B1

WIK-it/ˈwɪkɪt/

A wicket in cricket is the set of three stumps (with bails) that the batter defends, and also the event of a batter getting out: take a wicket / lose a wicket. It is not a gate in this sporting sense (though wicket-gate is a small gate elsewhere). Countable. A sticky wicket is also an idiom for a difficult situation.

Meaning

In cricket, the stumps a batter defends, or the dismissal of a batter.

Examples

• “He was out, and that was the third wicket of the afternoon.”
• “The next batter walked out after the wicket fell.”
• “Kids had chalked a wicket on the playground wall and were using a tennis ball.”

Good to know

a wicket (cricket): the stumps, or a batter out. take / lose a wicket. Contrast: a goal (football).

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