For a brief period, permit your imagination to overrule your logical thinking and visualize a bright sunny afternoon at LORD’S where you are sitting among thousands of human heads in the gallery, in eager anticipation of glimpsing the pair of Leigh Hunt and William Hazlitt walking out to the middle and turning their mojo on the crowd not with pens but with bats in their hands. From the bowler’s end would run in a certain Charles Lamb, and bowl his gentle medium pace to ruffle his two celebrated contemporaries. The Press Box is lit up too; thanks to the efforts of Mr. Jingle who doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned to enthral the Television spectators by providing a running commentary on the game, steeped in hilarious anecdotes which are uniquely his own. In the midst of the on-field excitement, one could notice the cameras of the Television crew peeping into the LORD’S balcony. Ah! Isn’t that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Yes it is! The Captain of Hunt and Hazlitt has almost no nail left in his hands! After all, his combatants are struggling big time against Lamb’s shrewd bowling. ‘’What do you make of the proceedings in the middle Richie?’’, Mr. Jingle asks his fellow commentator in his quirky voice. The man sitting next to the speaker needs no introduction however. Television sets across the globe now reverberate together as Richie Benaud picks up the microphone and exclaims, ‘’From the broadcasting box, you can’t see enough runs on the scoreboard, nor can you notice tenough nails in Sir Arthur’s hands. So grim is the situation out there in the middle!’’.
The string of events mentioned above might be wrapped up in a fantasy shell, but the game of cricket has traditionally had a long and cherished association with the world of fiction. While the likes of Hunt, Hazlitt, Sir Arthur and Lamb have never dabbled in the application of cricket in their respective works, there are certain stories featuring cricket that have been heartily accepted by the public; largely because of the sheer dexterity with which the authors have accommodated the ‘Gentleman’s Game’ within the confinements of their books. In this feature, we compile a list of twelve meticulously crafted novels which have stood the test of time and established an unbreakable relationship with cricket. The list covers quite a wide timespan from the Victorian period to the present Post Modern period.
- The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
The most prolific writer of the Victorian era and one of the most celebrated English authors of all time, Charles Dickens wrote his first full-scale novel, ‘’The Pickwick Papers’’ (1836-1837) at the tender age of twenty five. A novel which primarily encompasses the aspects of caricature, satire, comedy and burlesque, ‘’The Pickwick Papers’’ is fondly remembered for its satire on how cricket appeared to be an unskilled sport in the age in which it was written. The iconic match between Muggleton and Dingdey Dell continues to work its magic on the admirers of English literature. Amusingly, we have one instance in the text where Mr.Samuel Pickwick, the main protagonist states that he is keen to watch a game ‘’in which the impotent effects of unskilful people do not endanger human life’’ after TracyTupman suffers an arm injury owing to an accident. It points out the potential hazards faced by early 19th century batsmen on underprepared pitches. The match between Muggleton and Dingdey Dell doesn’t turn out to be a fascinating contest (and doesn’t go down to the wire) and at times seems rather dull.Mr. Jingle, a strolling actor and an engaging charlatan brings to the fore his bizarre anecdotes as he provides a running commentary on the game. In the end, Dingdey Dell is left with no other option but to submit to the ‘’superior prowess’’ of Muggleton. In 2012, Royal Mail released a set of stamps to celebrate Dickens’ 200th Birth Anniversary. A couple of those stamps depicted the famous match between Muggleton and Dingdey Dell.
- Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
Published in 1857, Thomas Hughes’ ‘’Tom Brown’s Schooldays’’ is a classic novel set in Rugby and is partly an autobiographical account of the author himself. An uplifting story of a typical English boy’s life at Dr. Arnold’s famous Rugby school, ‘’Tom Brown’s Schooldays’’ presents the protagonist’s schooldays from his first day as an adamant youngster to his last day at the school where he is seen captaining the school cricket team. In the highly praised cricket match between Rugby and London, Tom exhibits an amazing code of honour when he lets George Arthur bat instead of another hitter known as the ‘’best bat left’’. Tom decides not to let him self be dominated by vainglory and is able to sustain his sense of fair play and integrity right till the end. He says, ‘’But I couldn’t help putting him in. It will do him so much good, and you can’t think what I owe him’’. Tom’s move to push Arthur up the batting order pays off as the latter puts up an outstanding performance even though Rugby goes on to lose the match by a narrow margin. Tom’s inspiring captaincy doesn’t fail to get noticed by the opposition as his counterpart from the rival camp remarks, ‘’I must compliment you sir, on your eleven’’. It is undoubtedlythe highest tribute to Tom and all the School eleven; irrespective of the result of the match.
All in all, ‘’Tom Brown’s Schooldays’’ is a didactic novel which traces a delightful journey from innocence to experience and revolves around the life of boisterous boy who thrived on fun, sports and adventure before blossoming into a mature personality.
- Psmith in the City by P.G Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was one of the most popular humourists of the 20th century and his ‘’Psmith in the City’’ (1910) remains a glaring testimony to the author’s immense sense of humour. A farcical novel, ‘’Psmith in the City’’ has cricket as the central focus and deals with the life of Mike Jackson; the youngest son of a renowned cricketing family. The story first appeared in the magazine, ‘The Captain’ in two separate parts. The first half of the story (which was later republished in 1953 under the title ‘’Mike at Wrykyn’’), introduces us to Mike and his two brothers named Joe and Bob. While Mike’s eldest brother Joe is a reasonably good first-class player, Bob is on the verge of breaking into the school team. Mike’s inclination towards cricket grows manifold when he visits Wrykyn, where he is confronted with alitany of problems; thanks to his love of adventure.Mike’s family members thrust their expectations onto him as they are hopeful of him making the cut for the school team.
The sequel to ‘’Mike at Wrykyn’’ is ‘’Mike and Psmith’’ (also known as ‘’Enter Psmith’’). Here, Mike reappears after a gap of two years since his visit to Wrykynand is all set to captain the cricket team. However, Mike’s ambitions are cut shot as he is withdrawn from the school by his father and subsequently transferred to an inferior school called Sedleigh. There he comes across Rupert Smith; another new arrival from the famous school of Eton. Over the course of time, they become the best of friends and cricket becomes their staple diet. The most ludicrous scene in the story has to be the one where John Bickersdyke, a local bully walks past the sightscreen distracting Mike who is unbeaten on 98. Victimised by Bickersdyke’s blooper, Mike gets clean bowled and his team loses the game. Bickersdyke was indeed fortunate enough not to have been born in this era!
- England, Their England by A.G Macdonell
‘’England, Their England’’ written by the Scottish author A.G Macdonell and first published in December 1933 is a satirical comic novel based on the highly contrasting rural and urban societies of the early 20th century England. Even though it is considered among critics to be one of the writer’s least known works, the novel drew flak for its sincere portrayal of village cricket. The novel illustrates the travel experiences of a young Scotsman, Donald Cameron who despite being invalided from the Western Front is compelled to prolong his stay in England as per his father’s will. There, he takes to writing articles for a series of London newspapers before a Welshman entrusts him with the task of writing a book about England from a foreigner’s perspective. Donald dedicates himself to research by befriending some journalists and minor poets, attending a country house weekend, working as a private secretary to an MP, attending the League of Nations and trying his hand at village cricket. The village cricket match forms the centrepiece of this book. The cricket team depicted in the book bears a strong resemblance to Sir John’s Cricket Club- the Invalids- which still survives.
- Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon, one of the most notable poets in English Literature during the First World War, produced ‘’Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man’’- an autobiographical novel which was first published by Faber and Faber in 1928. Even though, it happens to be an autobiographical account of the author, the characters in the novel have been assigned pseudonyms, including Sassoon himself who appears as George Sherston. Primarily concerned with a series of landmark events in Sherston’s childhood and youth, ‘’Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man’’ traverses through numerous warm moments. Cricket creeps into the narrative in the form of ‘The Flower Show Match’- an account of an annual village cricket game. The match between Batley and Rotherden is reminiscent of a typical English rural society that was kept oppressed during the First World War. Young Sherston enthusiastically whitens his pads with ‘’Blanco’’ upon knowing that he has been selected to play for Batley. The match embodies a few hilarious incidents in procession. A cricket frenzied cleric called Pastor Yelden is done in by a ‘’vicious yorker’’ which rattles his stumps, one of Yelden’s teammates fumbles with straps and buckles when he gets to know of Yelden’s dismissal.Sherston eventually plays a crucial part in the match. The ‘’Flower Show match’’ is an evocation of cricket on the village green and has an unceasing appeal to its readers who are mostly schoolchildren. The story concludes with the protagonist’s enlistment in a local regiment.
- Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
Mystery and cricket? They don’t seem analogous to each other, right? But, cricket does play a vital partin Dorothy. L. Sayer’s crime thriller, ‘’Murder Must Advertise’’ (1933). The author’s third instalment in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, the story describes a case undertaken by the aristocratic sleuth, Lord Peter in which he goes undercover as Death Brendon. Majority of the action is set in an advertising agency called Pym’s Publicity Ltd. where Victor Dean, a copywriter is found dead. Wimsey takes the pseudonym of Death Brendon and goes to work at Pym’s to unmask the murderer. Having overcome several obstacles over the course of his investigation, Wimsey gets his final clue in a cricket match between Pym’s and Brotherhood’s (one of Pym’s clients). Most of the players from either camp are middle aged and look unfit but Wimsey had been a star player during his University days at both Eton and Oxford. An elderly spectator even identified him as the same Wimsey who has scored a century for Oxford at LORD’S in 1911 Enticed by a short ball which clips his elbow;Wimsey exhibits his cricketing prowess in a fit of excitement. But a brilliant throw by Tallboy from deep ensured that Wimsey’s partner was run out. Unfazed by the dismissal of his partner Wimsey puts up a stellar performance and pilots his team to victory. But after the conclusion of the game, Wimsey aka ‘’Brendon’’ is arrested by the police on the basis of charges of his alleged involvement in a certain Dian de Momerie’s murder. Lord Peter eventually gets to the heart of the case and is able to track down the killer who turns out to be none but Tallboy.
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
Well, the Gentleman’s game for a change, is exploited with a shade of boldness and impudence in ‘’Finnegans Wake’’ (1939). It took a master craftsman like Joyce seventeen years to cultivate the contents of the book. The most efficient practitioner of the ‘stream of consciousness’ technique,Joyce wrote the entire book in a kind of idiosyncratic language. Joyce presents us with the names of 31 cricketers in this intriguing book and looks to astonish the readers by incorporating an erotic sex scene; drawn purely from the names of First Class cricketers. Joyce must have sifted through quite a few editions of Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac while hatching the plot but it was perhaps the expertise of his research assistant on ‘’Finnegan’s Wake’’ which benefitted him the most. And what was the name of that gentleman? We have never had such a ‘famous’ cricketer really. Samuel Barclay Butler quietly stood at the non-striker’s end and forged a recondite but precious partnership with Joyce, the striker.
- A Season in Sinji by J.L Carr
Set mostly at fictional Royal Air Force Sinji in West Africa during World War II, ‘’A Season in Sinji’’ (1967) written by the English writer Joseph Lloyd Carr features a weird cricket match. Interestingly, the author had a deep interest for the game of ‘willow and cork’ from a very young age and his fascination for the game bolstered his imagination to write this book. It is a typical Carr novel which bears a strong element of personal experience and reminiscence. Carr’s past experiences as an intelligence officer in the RAF in the Gambia in West Africa helped him develop the plot for this novel. Carr was so personally attached to this book that he described the work as his ‘’best’’ and ‘’one written with passion’’ in an interview with Vogue magazine.
- Flashman’s Lady by George Macdonald Fraser
Here’s a trivia question. Who was the first bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket?Although records suggest that Australia’s Fred Spofforth recorded the first ever hat-trick in international cricket against England at the MCG on January 2, 1879, the eminent British author George Macdonald Fraser claimed in his novel ‘’Flashman’s Lady’’ (1977) that Harry Flashman (a fictional character and protagonist of Fraser’s ‘’The Flashman Papers’’; a series of 12 books illustrating Flashman’s adventures) is the initiator of the hat-trick. Flashman’s cricketing proficiency is not limited to just a hat-trick as he takes part in a fictionalised cricket match at LORD’S in 1842 which also features some of the most striking cricketing personalities of that era such as Nicholas Felix, Alfred Mynn and Fuller Pilch. Macdonald Fraser takes great care in painting his canvas with the colours of village cricket as he observed during the early 20th century. The scene depicting Flashman’s celebration after he scalps the three crucial wickets of the Felix, Pilch and Mynn is aptly constructed to tickle your funny bone. Moreover the modes of dismissal are also unique in case of the three aforesaid batsmen. While Felix’s wicket is purely the rewardforFlashman’s skill,Pilch and Mynn fall prey to misfortune.
- Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
The LORD’S Media Centre does resemble a spaceship but has anybody seen an UFO hovering above the iconic cricket ground in its 229-year long history? Not even in the wildest dreams. Fiction on the other hand, has always had an abode for such queer thoughts. Douglas Adams in his ‘’Life, the Universe and Everything’’ (1982) explores the adventures of Arthur Dent and Ford Perfect as they traverse through the space time continuum and end up reaching LORD’S where the Ashes trophy gets stolen by burglars. The thieves are not Homo-Sapiens though but a group of robber robots from the planet Krikkit (is this how robots will spell/pronounce the game in the future?). In this humorously allusive science-fiction story, Adams describes cricket as a product gushing out of ‘’interspecies collective unconscious memory’’ and it is the humans who have shamelessly given it the status of a sport. There is one instance in the novel where we find Dent bowling at a Krikkit robot in an intriguing duel. Are we really in for such days?
- 24 for 3 by Jennie Walker
Jennie Walker (the pseudonym used by the English poet Charles Boyle) used the backdrop of a Test match between England and India to write his novella ‘’24 for 3’’ (2007). The 128-page book narrates the story of a woman named Alan who has a difficult time in choosing between her lover and her husband. The plot develops in the course of just five days, during an England v/s India Test match. Alan’s husband draws elaborate diagrams of field placements and teaches Alan the basic rules of the game. On the flipside, Alan’s lover is a ‘’loss adjuster’’ who prefers mystery over anything else. Walker also depicts a beautiful relationship between Alan and her stepson Selwyn, whom she loves more than anything else in this mortal world. Alan’s responsibilities towards Selwyn further multiply her dilemma. Cricket takes the role of a vehicle in this book as Alan pertinently draws parallels between the people in her life and the tactics associated with the game. The novella was favourably reviewed by The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph and won the McKitterick Prize in 2008.
- The Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
One of the most critically acclaimed novels on cricket in the Post-modern period, ‘’The Netherland’’ (2008) written by Joseph O’Neill deals with the happenings in the life of Hans van den Brock; a Dutch financial analyst who lives in New York. The book was written in the wake of the infamous 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Hans pursues cricket and starts playing for the Staten Island Cricket Club; courtesy a Trinidadian umpire called Chuck Ramkissoon who plays a decisive role in the novel. The novel begins with Hans returning to Manhattan for the funeral of Chuck and the remainder of the story is narrated through flashbacks. Majority of the members of the Staten Island Cricket Club are of South Asian and West Indian origin. Chuck who considers himself to be an idealist, operates multiple businesses and instigates Hans to work for the realization of the American dream. Excitement gathers when Chuck orders a pacer out of attack for allegedly delivering horrendous bouncers in a club game. Among a horde of people who protest vociferously against the umpire’s call, is seen a man who walks on to the field with a gun in his hand. Ramkissoon is forced to remain silent and he requests the intruder to leave the field. As the story approaches its conclusion, Hans is estranged with Chuck and the latter eventually dies a gangster’s death whose body is discovered several years later; lying disposed in the Gowanus Canal. The novel was conferred with both the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award in 2009..