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A duck is a score of zero by a batter who is dismissed. That much is universal. The colourful names attached to it, golden, diamond and platinum, are informal slang rather than anything in the Laws of Cricket, so two scorers can use the same word and mean different things. This guide gives the definitions most sources agree on, flags the ones where they do not, and shows how a duck is recorded in the scorebook and counted in a batting average.
What Is a Duck in Cricket?
A batter makes a duck when they are out without scoring. The scorecard shows 0 in the runs column and a dismissal in the how-out column. A batter who finishes on 0 not out has not made a duck, because there was no dismissal. The name is usually traced to the shape of a duck’s egg resembling a zero, though like most cricket etymology it is more tradition than documented fact.
The Named Ducks at a Glance
| Term | Usual meaning | How settled is it? |
|---|---|---|
| Duck | Dismissed without scoring | Universal. A not-out 0 is not a duck |
| Golden duck | Out for 0 on the first ball faced | Widely agreed |
| Silver duck, bronze duck | Out for 0 on the second or third ball faced | Informal, rarely used |
| Diamond duck | Out for 0 without facing a ball, usually run out at the non-striker’s end | Mostly agreed; some sources add timed out |
| Platinum duck | Out without facing a ball, or out on the first ball of the team’s innings | Disputed. Check the source |
| Pair | A duck in both innings of one match | Widely agreed |
| King pair | A golden duck in both innings of one match | Widely agreed |
Golden duck is the safe term. Diamond and platinum are where arguments start, covered below.
Golden Duck: Out First Ball
A golden duck is a dismissal for nought on the very first ball the batter faces. Bowled, caught, lbw and stumped all qualify, and so does a run out if it happens off the first ball faced. The batter has to have faced a delivery, which separates it from the diamond duck.
Diamond Duck: Out Without Facing
The most common use of diamond duck is a batter dismissed without facing a ball. The classic case is a run out at the non-striker’s end after the striker plays the ball back down the wicket and it deflects onto the stumps. Some sources also include a batter who is timed out. For the mechanics of that dismissal, see our guide to rare dismissals.
Platinum Duck: Where the Sources Disagree
Platinum duck is the least settled term. One group of sources uses it for a dismissal without facing a ball, which overlaps with diamond. Another uses it for a batter out on the first ball of their team’s innings, a case that other writers call a royal duck or a diamond duck. If you are writing it into a club record or a social post, spell out what happened, for example “out first ball of the innings”, instead of relying on the label.
Silver and Bronze Ducks
Some writers extend the metal scale to the second ball faced (silver) and the third (bronze). It is a light-hearted extension, not a convention, and most scorebooks never use it.
Pair and King Pair
A pair is a duck in both innings of the same match, so it only exists in two-innings cricket. A king pair is the harsher version: a golden duck in both innings, out to the first ball faced each time. They are match-level terms, so a duck in one match and a duck in the next is not a pair.
How a Scorer Records a Duck
There is no special duck mark. Record the batter as out with 0 runs and the number of balls they faced. The duck label falls out of those two numbers:
| Situation | Runs | Balls faced | Usual name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowled first ball | 0 | 1 | Golden duck |
| Caught off the fourth ball faced | 0 | 4 | Duck |
| Run out backing up before facing | 0 | 0 | Diamond duck |
| Run out at the non-striker’s end after facing one ball and scoring none | 0 | 1 | Golden duck (out on the first ball faced) |
| Not out 0 at the end of the innings | 0 | any | Not a duck |
| Retired hurt on 0 | 0 | any | Not a duck, not a dismissal |
Two edge cases are worth deciding before the season starts. A stumping off a wide is an out on a delivery that is not usually counted as a ball faced, so strict statisticians would call it a diamond duck while most people would call it golden. And a batter who is retired out on nought has been dismissed in most scoring conventions, but plenty of clubs would not call it a duck. Write your club’s rule down and apply it consistently. For the dismissal notation itself, see the scorecard abbreviations guide and retired hurt versus retired out.
How a Duck Affects a Batting Average
A duck is a completed innings and a dismissal. It adds one to the denominator of the batting average and nothing to the runs, which is why a couple of ducks hurt a short season so much. Take this five-innings sequence:
| Innings | Runs | Out? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Out (duck) |
| 2 | 0 | Out (duck) |
| 3 | 32 | Out |
| 4 | 45 | Not out |
| 5 | 18 | Out |
Runs are 0 + 0 + 32 + 45 + 18 = 95. There are four dismissals, because the 45 was not out, so the average is 95 ÷ 4 = 23.75. Remove the two ducks and the same runs come from two dismissals, an average of 47.50. The 45 not out does not add a dismissal, which is why not-outs lift an average. To run your own numbers, use the batting average calculator, read the full method in batting average explained, and see how clubs treat qualification in the end-of-season averages guide.
Ducks in Fantasy and Club Awards
Fantasy cricket scoring often penalises a dismissal for nought, with the size of the penalty set by the platform, so check the rules of yours rather than assuming. Clubs also keep light-hearted awards such as a duck tally for the season. If you run one, define in the rules whether retired-out and diamond ducks count. The fantasy cricket points calculator shows how a duck is handled in a typical points table.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a duck in cricket?
A duck is when a batter is dismissed without scoring a run. The innings is recorded as 0 and the batter is out. A batter who finishes on 0 not out has not made a duck, because duck requires a dismissal.
What is a golden duck?
A golden duck is a dismissal for zero on the first ball the batter faces. It is the most consistently defined of the named ducks.
What is a diamond duck?
Most sources use diamond duck for a batter dismissed without facing a ball, typically run out at the non-striker’s end. Some sources also include being timed out. Because the term is informal, check how your club or website defines it.
What is a platinum duck?
There is no settled meaning. Some sources use it for a dismissal without facing a ball, while others use it for being out on the first ball of a team’s innings. If you use it in a club record, say which one you mean.
What is a pair and a king pair?
A pair is a duck in both innings of the same match. A king pair is a golden duck in both innings, out to the first ball faced each time. Both terms apply to two-innings matches.
Does a duck affect a batting average?
Yes. A duck is a completed innings and a dismissal, so it adds one to the number of dismissals and nothing to runs, which lowers the average. A not-out zero adds an innings but no dismissal, so it does not.
Does being retired out on 0 count as a duck?
It is debatable. Retired out is treated as a dismissal in most scoring conventions, so many record-keepers count it, but retired hurt is not a dismissal and is never a duck. Decide the rule for your club records and apply it consistently.
How CricPulse Fits In
Want to record this automatically during your next match? Score your match with CricPulse. It keeps the runs and balls faced for every batter, so a golden duck is simply a dismissal for 0 off 1, and the dismissal counts correctly in the player’s average afterwards. To learn the rest of the scorebook, start with how to score a cricket match and how to read a scorecard.