Australian captain Ricky Ponting is carried on the shoulders of his teammates after their victory at the 2003 Cricket World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. Australia beat India by 125 runs to retain the title. (Jon Hrusa/Associated Press)

Cricket is not exactly a mainstream sport in North America, but for billions of people around the world, it is the only sport. Fans in cricket hotbeds such as Australia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and England (to name a few) will be watching as the Cricket World Cup gets underway in the West Indies March 13 to April 29.

Canada will be there too. CBC Sports Online has pulled together some common (and not so common) terms to help you get into the game.

All out: Term used when a team has used up its 10 wickets, or outs. For example, a score sheet may read "all out for 270," which means that team scored 270 runs before getting all out.

Allrounder: Refers to a player who excels at both batting and bowling. South Africa's Shaun Pollock and England's Andrew Flintoff are among the world's best allrounders.

Bail: One of the two small pieces of wood balanced on top of the stumps to form the wicket. The bails fall if the wicket is touched by the ball.

Batsman: There are 11 batsmen in total and two batsmen on the pitch at all times. Once 10 batsmen are out, that's it. The 11th player can't bat because no one can bat alone. The flat surface of the bat allows the batsman to hit the ball in any direction. The batsman runs with his bat and must touch the ground within the popping crease with the bat or any part of his body in order to score a run. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara is one of the world's top batsmen.

Bouncer: A pace bowler's tool of intimidation. Delivered fast and short in order for the ball to rise/bounce to the chest or head level at the batsman. Also called chin music (a phrase often used in baseball).

Australian pace bowler Shane Watson follows through on his delivery to Zimbabwe batsman Elton Chigumbura during a Cricket World Cup warm-up in Arnos Vale, St. Vincent, on March 6. (Rick Rycroft/Getty Images)

Bowler: Cricket's equivalent of a pitcher. They must bowl overhand with a straight arm motion and keep their front foot within the popping crease. Usually the bowler throws the ball so it bounces before it gets to the batsman. A bowler's goal is to take wickets (outs). Primarily, there are two types of bowlers - pace bowlers and spin bowlers.

Bowled: Type of out or dismissal. Occurs when the bowler hits the wicket with the ball. If the bails are dislodged, you're out. The batsmen's No. 1 objective is to protect their wicket when they are at bat. The world's best batsmen don't get bowled out very often.

Caught: Type of out or dismissal. When a fielder catches the ball before it bounces (like a fly ball or lineout in baseball). or if the ball is caught after hitting the batsman's glove when it is still holding the bat handle.

Century: The formal way of saying 100 runs. Also known as a ton.

Chucker: A chucker is a cheeky word for a bowler who delivers the ball in an illegal manner. Unlike baseball, where pitchers are allowed to bend their arms when throwing the ball, bowlers are supposed to deliver the ball with a straight arm. The rule has evolved somewhat, but essentially bowlers cannot change their angle of the arm at the elbow when bowling.

Duck: A batsman's score of zero, as in, "he was out for a duck." It's believed the word comes from the idea that "0" resembles a duck's egg.

Extras: Runs not accredited to any particular batsman. Extras consist of byes, leg byes, no balls, wides and penalty runs.

Fall of wickets: The batting team's score at which a batsman gets out. See partnership.

Four: A batsman is automatically awarded four runs if he hits the ball, and it bounces one or more times and goes outside the boundary.

South African cricketer Loots Bosman hits a boundary off Pakistani bowler Danish Kaneria (not in picture) during an exhibition match prior to the Cricket World Cup. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Googly: A right-handed spin baller's best weapon. The bowler will spin the ball out of the back of his hand and off the pinky finger. When the ball hits the ground, it moves right to left at the batsman. A very deceptive bowl. Australian great Shane Warne was known for his googly.

Howzat: Phrase said when a fielding side is appealing to an umpire for a dismissal or out. An umpire cannot give his ruling until at least one player on the fielding side has said "Howzat" or "How's That?"

Innings: Time at bat. An innings ends once 10 batsmen on one team are out. In a one-day competition, each team has one innings.

Leg Before Wicket (LBW): A method of dismissal where the umpire will consider an LBW if the umpire believes the ball would have hit the stumps if it hadn't been obstructed by the batsman's leg. LBW is open for interpretation.

Leg spinner: Right-handed bowler who spins the ball using his wrist. Ball will spin right to left.

Off spinner: Right-handed bowler who spins the ball using his fingers. Ball will spin left to right.

No ball: A "no ball" is called by the umpire if a bowler chucks the ball (does an illegal arm motion) or if the bowler steps over the line during the delivery.

Outs: There are 10 ways to get out in cricket, but five major ones - bowled, caught, LBW, run out and stumped. The more obscure ways are hit wicket, handled the ball, double hit, obstructing the field and timed out.

Over: An over consists of six balls. The term "over" is also called by the umpire when the bowler has completed his six balls. At that time, another bowler bowls the opposite way. No bowler can bowl more than 10 overs. Each team has 50 overs in one-day internationals.

Pace bowlers: Also known as fast bowlers. A pace bowler can bowl upwards of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometres) and often uses a combination of seam, swing and pace in order to trick the batsman. On average, a pace bowler will take a run up of 20 feet (just over six metres) before bowling the ball. All the greatest bowlers in cricket history are either pace or spin bowlers.

Partnership: Refers to the batting performance by two particular batsmen when batting together during an innings or the cumulative score made by two partnering batsmen before the fall of wickets. Strong partnerships can win teams matches. Communication is key between batsmen.

Pitch: Rectangular area on which the bowler and batsman face off. Most of the game's action takes place on the pitch. An oval-shaped field surrounds the pitch.

Canada's batsman Ashish Bagai, left, is stumped by Pakistan's wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, right, during a Cricket World Cup warm-up game in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Tuesday. (Themba Hadebe/Associated Press)

Popping crease: Bowler must release the ball within this area. The ball must be bowled inside the pitch ends. A bowl is called wide if it is too high, or too far to the left or right of the pitch ends.

Runs: To score a run, the batsman must hit the ball and run to the opposite wicket, while his non-hitting batsman runs to the other wicket. Both runners must touch the ground behind the crease with either their bats or their bodies (the batsmen carry their bats as they run) to count a run. The batsmen communicate with each other about how many times they think they can run back and forth between the wickets. Batsmen can also not run. There is no rule that forces them to do so. It is 20.12 metres between wickets.

Run out: Type of out or dismissal. When a batsman attempts to go for a run, but the fieldsmen knock off the bails before the batsman reaches the wicket.

Seam bowler: Refers to a medium-pace bowler who can cause a ball to bounce on the seam of the ball, which causes it to move sideways as it travels toward the batsman.

Sight screen: A screen placed near the boundary behind the bowler in order to help the batsman see the ball when it's bowled. Helps differentiate the bowler from the rest of the field.

Six: A batsman is automatically awarded six runs if he hits the ball in the air over the boundary. Cricket's equivalent to a home run in baseball.

Sledging: Trash talking. There is constant chatter going on between the fielding team and the opposing batsmen with the purpose of unnerving players and taking them off their games. Most of the sledging will come from the wicketkeeper and the closest fieldsmen to the batsmen. There are several forms of sledging - complimentary ("You look awesome today, I don't think I've ever seen you looking so fit."), intimidation ("Are your knees shaking? Don't worry, that ball won't hurt.") and low blows ("How's your wife and my kids?").

Spin bowlers: Also known as a slow bowler. This type of bowler throws in the 40- to 70- mile-per-hour (64- to 112-kilometre-per-hour) range, but the ball is just as tough to hit because it spins, curves and dips in different directions. In other words, a spin bowler is very unpredictable. All the greatest bowlers in cricket history are either pace or spin bowlers.

Stump: One of three pegs that form a wicket. The peg closest to the batsman's leg is called the leg stump, the one furthest away is called the off stump and the one in the centre is called the middle stump.

Stumped: Type of out or dismissal. Usually occurs when the batsman takes a big swing to smash a ball and misses, and the wicketkeeper grabs the ball and knocks the stumps before the batsman is able to get back into his crease. Similar to a runner being picked off at first base in baseball.

Ton: 100 runs or a century

Umpire: Two empires supervise the match. One stands at the bowler's wicket, the other stands perpendicular to the batsman's wicket. The umpires determine if a bowl is good, if a batsman is out and if equipment (such as the bat) meets regulations. The umpires change positions after each over.

Wicket: A multi-faceted term in cricket. Used to describe the batting and bowling area, the stumps and bails, or an out or dismissal by a bowler. There are 10 available wickets in an innings.

Wicketkeeper: Much like a catcher in baseball. The only player on the pitch that wears gloves. The wicketkeeper stands behind the batsman's wicket throughout the game. The main job of the wicketkeeper is to prevent the bowler's balls from going into the outfield.

CBC Sports Online would like to thank cricket aficionados Giles Deshon and Dilhan Kuru for their insight into this piece.