play the ball
Strike the sphere
To play the ball is to make contact with or direct the ball in sports—hitting, kicking, passing, or otherwise engaging it as part of gameplay.
In cricket, rugby, and soccer, the phrase often contrasts with playing the man: Play the ball, not the player.
Figuratively, to play the ball means to engage with the matter at hand rather than attacking people: Let's play the ball here and focus on the actual proposal.
- rugbyTeam sport with scrums
- soccerField sport with goals
- first touchOpening control of ball
- kickFoot-delivered strike
- drop kickBoot from ground bounce
dribble · tackle · pass · throw-in · shoot · scrum · offside rule · hockey · mark · set piece · tennis · golf · cricket · knock-on · fairness · advantage rule · match · tournament
- rugbyscrum, try, rugby, Rugby World Cup, rugby union
- Rugby Leaguetry, tackle, scrum, halfback, fullback
play the ballspectate
Watch an event unfold
ride the bench · warm the bench · observe · sit out · ride the pine
play the ballbody check
Deliberate physical contact play
play, ball, plays, played, playing, player, players, playful, playfully