The shutters are down

Posted by James Briggs on August 17, 2007

In Reply to: The shutters are down posted by Sameer on August 16, 2007

: Sometimes I have heard commentators in cricket say "shutters are down" when the batsman is not scoring runs. Could u please interpret the meaning for me? I am not able to get the gist of what they say.

Think of windows with the light streaming through. If you close the window shutters (these are often a form of wooden screen, when present), the the light doesn't get through so well - the light is blocked. If a cricketer puts up his 'shutters' he removes the light from his game and just blocks the ball.
BTW, in the UK the shutters are usually 'up' rather than 'down' when they are shut. This goes back to the fact that shutters were often separate screens which had to be lifted into place.

• The shutters are down RRC 18/August/07