Poetry about cricket

The game of cricket has inspired much poetry, most of which romanticises the sport and its culture.

Poems

The first known poem about cricket was written in Latin hexameters, by the Bristol schoolmaster William Goldwyn in 1704.^[1] Notable authors and poets who created poetry about cricket include William Blake, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, G. K. Chesterton, Harry Farjeon, Henry Newbolt, Harold Pinter, and Siegfried Sassoon.^[1]

The poem "Cricket: An Heroic Poem" by James Love is too long to quote in full; above are its opening two lines. It describes a match in 1744 between Kent and England. It is written in rhyming couplets. According to H.S. Altham, it "should be in every cricket lover's library" and "his description of the game goes with a rare swing".^[2] The poem is the first substantial piece of literature about cricket.

Not long before his death and long after he had watched Hornby and Barlow bat at Old Trafford, Francis Thompson was invited to watch Lancashire play Middlesex at Lord's. As the day of the match grew closer, Thompson became increasingly nostalgic. At the end, he did not go for the match, but sat at home and wrote "At Lord's". The original match in 1878 ended in a draw, with Gloucestershire needing 111 to win with five wickets in hand, Grace 58*.^[3] The first stanza of the poem has contributed the titles of at least three books on cricket: G. D. Martineau's The field is full of shades^[4], Eric Midwinter's history of Lancashire cricket Red roses crest the caps^[5], R. H. Young's Field Full of Shades. A personal history of Claverham (Yatton) Cricket Club. The first stanza is also quoted in full by Count Bronowsky in Paul Scott's Raj Quartet novel The Day of the Scorpion.

The satirical magazine Punch printed a poem following a particularly slow and boring innings by William Scotton. It mimicked Tennyson's "Break, break, break".^[6]

When Alfred Mynn died in 1861, William Jeffrey Prowse penned a poem in his memory. ^[7] The Australian poet Les Murray wrote "The Aboriginal Cricketer".^[8] One of the most famous pieces of nostalgic rose-tinted poems is "Vitaï Lampada" by Sir Henry Newbolt.^[9][10] The very short "A Cricket Poem" by Harold Pinter encapsulates the mood and nostalgia common to lovers of cricket.^[11] Roy Harper penned a poem for English cricketer Graeme Fowler's benefit event, "Three Hundred Words".^[12] Australian poet Damian Balassone often employs cricket themes, such as in the poem "Strange Dismissal", which appears in Quadrant magazine.

Cricket features, albeit briefly, in late-Victorian poet A. E. Housman's most famous collection of somewhat gloomy poems A Shropshire Lad, published in 1896, including "Poem XVII". Poet Alan Ross wrote the poem "Test Match At Lord's".^[1] Herbert Farjeon wrote the poem "The Old Pavilion Bell".^[1]

Verses and songs

See also: List of calypso songs about cricket

At Lord's in 1950, the West Indies defeated England in England for the first time. Egbert Moore, who sang under the pseudonym Lord Beginner, popularized the most famous of cricketing calypsos to celebrate the occasion. He was accompanied by Calypso Rhythm Kings, "supervision" by Denis Preston. It was recorded on the Melodisc (1133) label (MEL 20). The song was originally composed by Lord Kitchener.^[13] "The Victory Calypso" also immortalised the spin bowling pair of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine. Lord Kitchener also wrote "The Ashes" about Australia vs MCC 1954-55.^[14][15]

Lord Relator (born Willard Harris) wrote the "Gavaskar Calypso" to celebrate Gavaskar's first Test series, in West Indies in 1970–71. This was voted at No. 68 at a "Calypso of the Century" poll (although "Victory Calypso" did not feature in the list).^[16]

"Dreadlock Holiday" is probably the most well-known pop song to mention cricket. 10cc's hit single reached number 1 in the UK in 1978.^[17] However, the song has only a tenuous connection with cricket, mentioning it in the chorus: "I don't like cricket, oh no, I love it".^[18] The group The Duckworth Lewis Method have released two concept albums about cricket, entitled The Duckworth Lewis Method and Sticky Wickets.^[19]

Anthologies

• Moments and Thoughts, by John Snow (Kaye & Ward Ltd., 1973)
• A Breathless Hush: The MCC Anthology of Cricket Verse, by Hubert Doggart and David Rayvern Allen (2004)
• Come Shane, by Victoria Coverdale (Make Jam Press, 2006) ISBN 0-9802963-0-7. A poetic tribute to Shane Warne from a female admirer and how her world changed when "that" ball was delivered.
• A Tingling Catch: A Century of New Zealand Cricket Poems 1864–2009, edited by Mark Pirie (Wellington, N.Z.: HeadworX Publishers). ISBN 978-0-473-16872-8. First anthology of New Zealand cricket poems.
• Cautionary Tales from the Pavilion: A Short Collection of Verse, by Giscard Drew (2014)
• Hows Its, by Nick Whittock (Inken Publish, 2014). ISBN 978-0-987-14232-0
• Leg Avant: The New Poetry of Cricket, edited by Richard Parker (Crater Press, 2016)
• Less Cautionary Tales from the Pavilion: A Slightly Longer Collection of Verse, by Gas Card Drew (2020)

See also

• Cricket in fiction
• Cricket in film and television