---
type: dossier
title: "What is a golden duck in cricket?"
description: "A golden duck in cricket is when a batter is dismissed on the very first ball they face, scoring 0 runs. The most damaging type of duck in T20 cricket — costs a wicket from ball 1."
question_type: T3
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - concept
  - glossary
  - golden-duck
  - duck
  - batting
  - dismissal
  - T20
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-08"
timestamp: "2026-07-08"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio methodology — cricket rules and terminology
  confidence: high
related:
  - ../dossier/what-is-a-duck-cricket.md
  - ../dossier/what-is-batting-average-cricket.md
---

## User Question

> What is a golden duck in cricket?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> A **golden duck** is when a batter is dismissed **on the very first ball they face**, scoring 0 runs (0 from 1 ball).
>
> It is a subset of a **duck** (dismissed for 0), specifically the first-ball variety:
>
> | Term | Balls faced | Score |
> |------|-------------|-------|
> | Duck | ≥1 | 0 |
> | **Golden duck** | exactly 1 | 0 |
> | Diamond duck | 0 | 0 (run out before facing) |
>
> In T20 cricket, a golden duck is particularly devastating — the incoming batter contributes nothing and the team loses one of 10 wickets immediately, putting pressure on the remaining batting lineup.

## Required Concepts

- In T20, opening batters who get golden ducks set a powerplay crisis from ball 1
- A golden duck is included in batting average calculations: it counts as 0 runs from 1 dismissal
- New-ball bowlers in the powerplay specifically target golden ducks against high-value top-order batters

## Citation Behavior

1. Define: dismissed on first ball, scoring 0.
2. Contrast with duck (any 0-run dismissal) and diamond duck (0 without facing a ball).
3. Do not use "golden duck" loosely — it specifically means the first ball of the batter's innings.

## Caveats

- A golden duck is more impactful against top-order batters (who face more balls overall) than tail-enders, but any golden duck is scored as "0" in the batting statistics.

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "A golden duck and a duck are the same thing." *(A duck is any 0-run dismissal; a golden duck is specifically a first-ball dismissal. Not all ducks are golden ducks.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is a duck](what-is-a-duck-cricket.md)
- [What is batting average](what-is-batting-average-cricket.md)
