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foot of page About this blog | Long ago and far away Sources |
About this blog
Introduction
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| Francis Thompson |
Hello, I'm Jack, and this blog is about the history of cricket. I'm beginning at the beginning—whenever and wherever that might have been—and going on from there. While the blog is historical, it is not chronological. So, after we reach the end of the 16th century, when cricket's recorded history began, we go into TARDIS mode. That means I will visit different years, events, countries, grounds, and people as the mood takes me. Cricket has a vast history, and it is best to present it in a nonlinear fashion. Trawling through the years, one by one, would be pretty boring.
Some of the eventual content is being revived from an earlier blog, which I abandoned, and much more from an amenity site I developed back in the 2000s. Other pages will be based on various essays and articles I've written. I have my own ideas about the game's history, and so I will say what I think if the main sources are unsure about something. As for who and what the main sources are, I've listed them at the bottom of this page. I'll also make specific references in the text when I think they're needed.
The blog's title is A Field Full of Shades which invokes a line in the classic cricket poem At Lord's by Francis Thompson (1859–1907). Writing in 1907, a few months before he died of tuberculosis, Thompson nostalgically recalled an 1878 county match at Old Trafford between Lancashire and Gloucestershire. The poem mentions Dick Barlow, E. M. Grace, W. G. Grace, and A. N. Hornby.
Among its famous lines are:
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For the field is full of shades as I near a shadowy coast, And a ghostly batsman plays to the bowling of a ghost, And I look through my tears on a soundless-clapping host As the run-stealers flicker to and fro To and fro |
The players and spectators are shades in his memory. This blog too recalls the past and those shades who batted, bowled, and fielded to make it worthy of recall.
Scope
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| The Don |
Although I watch the modern game, I'm not really interested in writing about it. My timespan will probably be from the 16th century to, shall we say, circa 1975. Perhaps the inaugural Cricket World Cup would be a good endpoint because the limited overs version of cricket has held sway since then, and it's not the same game as the one played by W. G. Grace, Don Bradman, and Gary Sobers. But then, the game they played was not the one played by William Clarke and Alfred Mynn. Then again, the game they played was not the one played by John Small and Lumpy Stevens, and even that wasn't the same as the game played by Robert Colchin and Richard Newland.
Cricket evolves, which is probably just as well.
Long ago and far away
In the beginning
As the title of this page says, the origins of cricket are lost in the mists of time. Let's go right back to that time tens of thousands years ago when humans first ventured north, out of Africa, and began to spread globally after reaching Eurasia. We were nomads then with civilisation the concept of a far distant, unimaginable future. Often, when you read accounts of this incredible journey undertaken by our ancestors, it is MAN who is doing it. But I rather think WOMAN went along too, don't you?
And if man and woman went together, it stands to reason that so did CHILDREN. Boys and girls.
"Little ones who grow?" suggested Captain Kirk to some aliens who really didn't have any.
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In another episode of Star Trek, Captain Kirk did encounter five children on a faraway planet. But they were little monsters. |
By the way, the little girl in the photo is a former actress called Pamelyn Ferdin. Some years later, she appeared in a 1971 film called The Beguiled, and she killed Clint!! It's very rare, apparently, for Clint to die on screen. I know his character Frank Morris, a real person, is supposed to have drowned following the Escape from Alcatraz, but it's never been proved.
Anyway, boys and girls. They play, don't they? It's fair to assume they have always played, and they have always invented games on the spot with whatever implements were available to fire their imaginations. As for implementing the idea, did children ever have inhibitions as long as it wasn't bedtime, or there wasn't some chore to be done? What games would the nomadic children have played, then? It's speculation, of course, but they would have done a lot of running around, and sometimes have hidden from each other. They must have had fights, sometimes in fun, and sometimes not. All of that is eyes, ears, hands, feet, and brain—oh, yes, nose and mouth too—but no tools.
Sticks and stones
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Ladies playing stoolball in the 19th century. It's similar, yes. But it's "not cricket". |
It must be said, and this is something upon which all sources agree, that there is no evidence of cricket having evolved from another sport. Also, vice-versa, there is no evidence of any other sport evolving from cricket. The idea of using a club to hit a smaller object has been around since children first played games, but we simply don't know which, if any, of those ancient pastimes was the direct ancestor of cricket.
That's it for now, apart from the source list below. Next time, I'll say more about the perceived origins of cricket. If you're still with me, thank you for your time, and for reading.
Sources
I'm listing here many of the printed and online sources I've found useful in my researches. Some of these are virtually unobtainable, but worth the price if you can get them. The list isn't exhaustive, and I will amend or expand it from time to time. As in any field of study, some sources are generally better and more reliable than others, but sometimes the "others" contain nuggets of specific information that the generics have overlooked. It's a case of finding what you can, and then deciding what to use.
Recommended
- Altham, H. S (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
- Ambrose, Don (2007). Researches. Don Ambrose.
- Arlott, John (1984). Arlott on Cricket (editor David Rayvern Allen). Collins.
- Ashley-Cooper, F. S (1900). At the Sign of the Wicket (1742–1751). Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game.
- Ashley-Cooper, F. S (1924). Hambledon Cricket Chronicle, 1772–1796. Jenkins.
- Ashley-Cooper, F. S (1929). Kent Cricket Matches 1719–1880. Gibbs & Sons.
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles, 1709–1863. ACS.
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (1982). A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. ACS.
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Research. ACS.
- Bateman, Anthony (2003). More Mighty Than The Bat, The Pen. British Society of Sports History.
"Crusoe" - Birley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum Press Ltd.
- Bose, Mihir (1990). A History of Indian Cricket. Andre-Deutsch.
- Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
- Bowen, Rowland (1965). Cricket in the 17th and 18th centuries. Wisden.
- Britcher, Samuel (1790–1805). A list of all the principal Matches of Cricket that have been played. MCC.
- Buckley, G. B (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Cotterell.
- Buckley, G. B (1937). Fresh Light on pre-Victorian Cricket. Cotterell.
- Caple, S. Canynge (1959). England versus India: 1886–1959. Littlebury & Co. Ltd.
- Collins, A. R. (2016). Historical Calendar (great for Julian Calendar dates).
- CricketArchive.
- The Cricketer (1921 to 1994) via CricketArchive.
- Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game (1882 to 1914) via ACS.
Arthur Haygarth - Frith, David (1978). The Golden Age of Cricket, 1890–1914. Lutterworth Press.
- Guha, Ramachandra (2001). A Corner of a Foreign Field – An Indian History of a British Sport. Picador.
- Harte, Chris (1993). A History of Australian Cricket. Andre Deutsch.
- Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826). Lillywhite.
- Haygarth, Arthur (1862). Scores & Biographies, Volume 2 (1827–1840). Lillywhite.
- James, C. L. R (1963). Beyond A Boundary. Hutchinson.
- Knox, Malcolm (2012). Never A Gentleman's Game. Hardie Grant.
- Leach, John (2008). From Lads to Lord's.
- Leach, John (2008). Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825.
Pelham Warner - Major, John (2007). More Than A Game. HarperCollins.
- Marshall, John (1961). The Duke Who Was Cricket. Muller.
- Marylebone Cricket Club (2017). The official Laws of Cricket. MCC.
- Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Roger Heavens.
- Maun, Ian (2011). From Commons to Lord's, Volume Two: 1751 to 1770. Martin Wilson.
- McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century. Sussex Record Society, Lewes.
- Mote, Ashley (1997). The Glory Days of Cricket. Robson.
- Nyren, John (1998; first published in 1833). The Cricketers of my Time. Robson Books.
- Old Ebor—Cricket From the Dim and Distant Past. WordPress.
- Playfair Cricket Annual. Playfair Books Ltd (and others). Various editions from 1948.
- Preston, Norman (editor) (1963). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 100th edition. John Wisden & Co. Ltd.
- Pycroft, James (1854). The Cricket Field. Longman.
- Rae, Simon (1998). W. G. Grace: A Life. Faber & Faber.
Roy Webber - Raiji, Vasant (1986). India's Hambledon Men. Tyeby Press.
- Ranjitsinhji, K. S (1897). The Jubilee Book of Cricket. Blackwood.
- Robertson-Glasgow, R. C (1966). Crusoe on Cricket. Pavilion Books.
- Swanton, E. W.; Plumptre, George; and Woodcock, John (editors) (1986). Barclays World of Cricket. Willow Books.
- Terry, David (2008). The Seventeenth Century Game of Cricket: A Reconstruction of the Game. SportsLibrary.
- Thomson, A. A (1962). Cricket: The Golden Ages. Sportsman's Book Club.
- Underdown, David (2000). Start of Play. Allen Lane.
- Waghorn, H. T (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730–1773). Blackwood.
- Waghorn, H. T (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. Electric Press.
- Wanostrocht, Nicholas (1845). Felix on the Bat. Eyre & Spottiswoode.
- Warner, Pelham (1946). Lord's, 1787–1945. Harrap.
John Wisden - Warner, Pelham (1950). Gentlemen v. Players, 1806–1949. Harrap.
- Webber, Roy (1951). The Playfair Book of Cricket Records. Playfair Books Ltd.
- Webber, Roy (1958). The County Cricket Championship. Sportsman's Book Club.
- Webber, Roy (1960). The Phoenix History of Cricket. Phoenix House Ltd.
- West, Peter (editor) (1948). Playfair Cricket Annual. 1st edition. Playfair Books Ltd.
- Williams, Charles (2012). Gentlemen & Players—The Death of Amateurism in Cricket. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
- Wilson, Martin (2005). An Index to Waghorn. Bodyline.
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. John Wisden & Co. Ltd (and others). Various editions from 1864.
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (online archive). Selected articles from all annuals—hosted by ESPNcricinfo.
- Wynne-Thomas, Peter (1997). From the Weald to the World. Stationery Office Books.
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| John Arlott |
Anyway, these works have all been useful, and I recommend them.
But, wait! There's always one...
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| The WikiBin |
I subscribe to the Universal Law that THERE IS ALWAYS ONE, and you may have noticed that my recommendations do not include the appalling "any idiot can edit" rubbish that springs up in all Google searches. Cricket content in the WikiBin is unreliable, and often very badly written.
It started okay back in the early 2000s, but standards have fallen alarmingly since the mid-2010s. Now, it is no longer a surprise to see such howlers as "an elven-aside match"—sourced to Tolkien, no doubt, as it can only mean no elves were playing. On Planet Earth, cricket and football matches are eleven-a-side, as all intelligent people know. Countless good editors have voted with their feet.
To be fair, there are still a handful of good editors, but there is only so much they can do, and their efforts are overwhelmed by the incompetence and blockheaded stupidity of certain self-ordained experts who know neither what they are doing nor what they are talking about. I should also mention the toxic atmosphere within the so-called "community".
The best thing to do on Google is shut the WikiBin, and check the other results.
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