Anyone for cricket?

ejmaztec

There's nothing like sound of leather on willow to take your mind of things.

It was probably better than building roads to nowhere, or taking the soup.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0202/1224311114059.html

Laois locals were paid to play cricket during the Great Famine

MICHAEL PARSONS

“TAKING THE Queen’s shilling” has acquired an unexpected new meaning with the revelation that men in the midlands played cricket for a landlord’s cash during the Great Famine.
Documents discovered in Co Laois reveal that the quintessential English game offered poverty-stricken Irishmen a rare chance to earn money during the catastrophe which devastated the countryside.
Viscount Ashbrook’s cricket club – on his estate at Castle Durrow – had a membership composed of the local Protestant gentry. But when the club needed extra players, Catholic men from the lower classes were hired to supplement the team. While the “toffs” were required to make cash contributions to the club, the Laois “temps” were actually paid for their endeavours.
Records from the Ashbrook Cricket Club for the years 1846-1848 have unexpectedly come to light and will be auctioned by Sheppard’s fine art auctioneers next month.
Rules and Regulations for the Season 1847 – the worst year of the Famine – show that the club members were required to pay “one shilling for every match they are on the losing side” and “one shilling and sixpence” (which included the cost of a luncheon of “cold meat”) for each practice day.
But the Catholic hirelings were paid for their participation – at the rate of “two shillings each for practice day and the same per day for matches against other clubs and their expenses”.
Auctioneer Philip Sheppard said the “mostly Catholic” young men had “used their sporting skills to earn money at a time of mass starvation” by “playing alongside peers of the realm, members of parliament, medical doctors and clergymen”.
With the exception of boxers and jockeys, the Laois cricketers appear to have been the first Irish sports players to be paid. But perhaps Viscount Ashbrook, a reputedly “good” landlord, had devised the payments to alleviate suffering?
Ashbrook Cricket Club’s records for the summer of 1847 chronicle matches against clubs including Kilkenny; The Huntingdon Club at the Heath Ground in Maryborough (now Portlaoise); Templemore, Co Tipperary; the Carlow Club; and the Phoenix Club in Dublin.
Although that year subsequently became known as “Black ’47” in Irish history, there is no hint or reference to the social impact of the Famine.
Mr Sheppard said the document was the earliest-known, organised “primary source” record of Irish sport in existence – with the exception of those relating to horse-racing – which “expands our understanding of mid-19th century provincial sporting and social life beyond the generalities of the huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ stereotype”.

Balmed Out

Do you know has cricket survived in the area?

LordSutch

My Grandad played Cricket in the Pheonix Park Dublin back in the 40s, and very popular it was too back then!

dubhthach

Cricket was once one of the most popular rural sports in Ireland (19th century). The rise of GAA of course help put pay to that. As well as lead to such things as "oh no you can't expand your city boundary into my county" (a quo Limerick and Waterford examples)

ejmaztec

Balmed Out wrote: »

Do you know has cricket survived in the area?

I've no idea. I'm in North Kerry and don't even know if the cricket club that I remember Listowel having a few years ago is still going.

If people were still being paid, like during the famine years in Laois, it would probably be more popular than it it appears to be:D

Fratton Fred

I wonder if this "miraculous" find has anything to do with Cricket Ireland's plan to get Test status in a few years time.

Ireland is currently the best of the rest as far as cricket goes and to make the step up, could do with being more popular with the masses.

There was an (unconnected) article on the BBC website yesterday, linking cricket with a harmonious society and how it possibly prevented a French type revolution.

Gee Bag

The cricket plot thickens!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/25/martin-mcguinness-love-of-cricket

<H1>Martin McGuinness: How I fell in love with cricket

Martin McGuinness isn't the first person you associate with cricket. But one night in the late 60s, a teenage McGuinness was up late watching television – and on came a cricket highlights package. "I thought it was really interesting," he recalls, though he can't remember who was playing. "It was a game where discipline was required. An intriguing battle between bowler and batsman. I became very interested in the different techniques and strategies that were deployed around it."


It's an unexpected romance. Cricket and sometime members of the IRA don't traditionally mix. For many years in Northern Ireland, cricket was more popular with Protestants, Gaelic football with Catholics. In 1972, Belfast's Cliftonville cricket ground was even set on fire during a spate of sectarian violence.
So it was a slight turn-up to learn that McGuinness – a Sinn Fein politician and now Northern Ireland's deputy first minister – is a cricket nut. "Incredibly for a hardline Irish republican he was also a big fan of the English cricket team," revealed Peter Hain, the former Northern Ireland secretary, in his memoirs this week. "England's victory over Australia in the Ashes series in 2005 especially enthralled him."
When I speak to McGuinness, on the phone from Belfast, his interest seems unlikelier still. "None of my friends were into it," he says. "The part of Derry where I lived, on the west bank of the Foyle, there wasn't any cricket whatsoever." His brothers were both high-level Gaelic footballers, and so his only cricketing outlet came from late-night television highlights. "The closest I got to playing cricket was what was called rounders. There was a very large field at the top of our street and we used to play there."
McGuinness recites with pride the day the lowly Irish team toppled the West Indies, then a good Test side. "Thanks to Dougie Goodwin and Alec O'Riordan, Ireland bowled them out for just 25 in July 1969. That was a much talked-about match at that time."
His Catholic friends didn't think his interest was bizarre. "They were just surprised," he says. "But over the years I've learned that other Irish republicans have a great interest in all sorts of sports, including cricket. Raymond McCartney, a former hunger-striker, is also a fan of cricket."
Hain writes that McGuinness was "able to recite match statistics and comment expertly", but I sense McGuinness's knowledge is now less detailed than it was. He says he has a soft spot for Pakistan, India and – after he went there on a peacekeeping mission – Sri Lanka. "But," he admits, "I wouldn't claim to be familiar with most of their players." Nevertheless, he is "very anxiously" awaiting Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's long-overdue 100th international century, and also speaks fondly of Australian batsman Ricky Ponting, who hits a massive 221 on the day we speak. "A lot of people thought his career had come to an end, so this is great to see."
McGuinness is most animated when talking about Irish cricket. "The current crop of Irish players has been doing a fantastic job for all of us," he says. "Kevin O'Brien [whose heroics helped Ireland beat England last year] is obviously a national hero." McGuinness happily remembers another famous day for Irish cricket: the shock win over Pakistan at the 2007 world cup. On their return, the team gave him one of the ties they wore at the tournament – "now a much favoured tie of mine". And today he's excited because Cricket Ireland (Irish cricket's governing body) has just announced plans to bring Test cricket to Ireland, which he hopes will both stop Ireland's best cricketers from emigrating to England, and increase participation at lower levels.
I ask if it will help rid Irish cricket of any remaining sectarian associations, but McGuinness rejects the terms of the question. "People say it's mostly Protestants who take an interest in cricket. But I don't think that's the case. All over the north, we have people from the Catholic tradition who also play. And I have to say I'm very proud of that."

</H1>

Gee Bag

These articles are too long to imbed:


Cricket in Westmeath
http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume12/issue2/features/?id=304


Cricket in Kilkenny
http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume15/issue2/reviews/?id=113943

Fratton Fred

Crikey. Next thing you know Peter Robinson will be going to GAA games!!

dubhthach

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Crikey. Next thing you know Peter Robinson will be going to GAA games!!

He did the other week:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0130/1224310944461.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/viewpoint/editors-viewpoint-robinsons-move-a-gamechanger-16110671.html

P. Breathnach

dubhthach wrote: »

He did the other week:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0130/1224310944461.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/viewpoint/editors-viewpoint-robinsons-move-a-gamechanger-16110671.html

I suspect that Fred knew that.

JustinDee

An academic from Maynooth College wrote a book on the history of cricket in rural Ireland about a decade ago. I borrowed it and it was excellent. Can't remember one detail of the author or the name of the book though

Covered the game's growth. The look at its demise in the country illustrated how it was preached from the pulpit that parishioners should no longer play it, with some eyebrow raising witness accounts of harrassment amongst other consequences for anyone playing it.

Would love if anyone could let me know the author's name and name of the book.

InTheTrees

Cricket is a great summer game.

Its a whole different pace.

It would be great to see it rise (again?) in popularity in ireland.

blatantrereg

Gee Bag wrote: »

The cricket plot thickens!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/25/martin-mcguinness-love-of-cricket

</H1>

Dont trust that personally. Seems too much like a way of diluting the terrorist/killer image he has. Odd how he never mentioned it before he decided to try to appeal to a larger group than republican extremists.

Cricket was the national sport of Ireland before 1916 I believe.

carolinej

Cricket was quite popular in my area 70 odd yrs ago. It was even played on my father's farm in my grandfather's time on a "flat" field. No gentry on the team either, all local people.

Judgement Day

JustinDee wrote: »

An academic from Maynooth College wrote a book on the history of cricket in rural Ireland about a decade ago. I borrowed it and it was excellent. Can't remember one detail of the author or the name of the book though

Covered the game's growth. The look at its demise in the country illustrated how it was preached from the pulpit that parishioners should no longer play it, with some eyebrow raising witness accounts of harrassment amongst other consequences for anyone playing it.

Would love if anyone could let me know the author's name and name of the book.

Bound to be here: http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CEIRELAND/DATABASE/FEATURES/bibliography.shtml

Cricket is a great game and I can never decide whether I love it more than rugby but I suspect the All Blacks and Munster win out especially since the retirement of Ian Botham et al.

Anybody who wasn't lucky enough to see Ian Botham & Bob Willis at Headingley live (well on TV anyway !) back in 1981 hasn't lived in my opinion.

P. Breathnach

Judgement Day wrote: »

...
Anybody who wasn't lucky enough to see Ian Botham & Bob Willis at Headingley live (well on TV anyway !) back in 1981 hasn't lived in my opinion.

I stopped watching on day 4!

JustinDee

Judgement Day wrote: »

Anybody who wasn't lucky enough to see Ian Botham & Bob Willis at Headingley live (well on TV anyway !) back in 1981 hasn't lived in my opinion.

That age of the game will never be matched. Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, test all-rounders all playing at the same time.
Now all would be is Jacques Kallis.

There have been many many greats of course. Lillee and Thomson are the players who drew me into the game in the first place. Them and Messrs Marshall and Holding were amazing quicks. Warnie is the best spinner I've ever seen. Lara the greatest batsman I've ever seen.

Edit: Here's the book I read - http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume15/issue2/reviews/?id=113943
Thanks for bibliography.

Judgement Day

Not forgetting Viv Richards, Chris Tavaré - the Test batsman credited with the record of being taking the longest time to get off the mark...:D

From Wiki:

Chris Tavaré - will we ever forget him?

He adapted his natural game to meet the requirements of the Test side, becoming a notorious blocker.[2] In 1981, at Old Trafford he scored 69 and 78, but was at the crease for twelve hours. His 50 in five hours and fifty minutes, against Pakistan in 1982, was the second slowest in the history of the English game.[1] Amongst his slowest crawls was to score just 35 runs, in six and a half hours, at Madras in the 1981/2 season.

Fratton Fred

JustinDee wrote: »

That age of the game will never be matched. Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, test all-rounders all playing at the same time.
Now all would be is Jacques Kallis.

There have been many many greats of course. Lillee and Thomson are the players who drew me into the game in the first place. Them and Messrs Marshall and Holding were amazing quicks. Warnie is the best spinner I've ever seen. Lara the greatest batsman I've ever seen.

Edit: Here's the book I read - http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume15/issue2/reviews/?id=113943
Thanks for bibliography.

If you're going to mention Michael Holding, you have to mention the famous piece of Brian Johnson cricket commentary gold when he was bowling to Peter Willey.

"The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey".

getz

the big problem with cricket in the UK is that it is still looked upon as a elitist [class] game, many working class schools no longer have a cricket grounds,those that have in the inner cities seem only willing to pick the children in the team who can afford whites,as many parents are single or not working, young kids with talent are left by the way side,i know it is the national game in england,but with a population of over 50 million in england and wales,only 250,000 people play the game, less and less every year

Richard

Gee Bag wrote: »

These articles are too long to imbed:


Cricket in Westmeath
http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume12/issue2/features/?id=304

There is an Athlone Cricket Club, at least there was 10 years ago when I lived there.