Village cricket

A typical summer scene of village cricket

Village cricket is a term, sometimes pejorative, given to the playing of cricket in rural villages in Britain. Many villages have their own teams that play at varying levels in local or regional club cricket leagues.

When organised cricket first began in the 17th century, matches were played between rival parishes or villages and this form of competition endured. In representative cricket a team includes players from multiple parishes, for instance one that represents a county or a country.^{[citation needed]}

Village cricket teams may be made up of local residents only,^{[citation needed]} although other first XI can include players with connections to minor counties cricket clubs, and members of the academies of the county cricket club of the county in which the team lies.^{[citation needed]}

Cricket in this form might be played on a village green or other public space instead of a dedicated ground.^{[citation needed]}

In some non-professional cricket leagues, the adjective "village" is a descriptor used humorously, self-deprecatingly, or, sometimes, pejoratively to convey a sense of amateurishness of some aspect of the players' preparation, dress, conduct or play.^{[citation needed]}

Village Cup

The annual National Village Cup competition began in 1972^[1] and each year's competition is covered in detail (particularly the final) in the following Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. The Cricketer magazine is responsible for organising the competition.

It is open to teams from English, Scottish or Welsh villages with a population up to originally 2,500^[2] but as of 2019^[update], 10,000.^[3] The final is played at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The competition's headline sponsor has changed often in recent years; the 2017 competition was chiefly sponsored by British milk producers, Watsons.

In popular media

• The Midsomer Murders episode "Dead Man's Eleven" has a sub-plot about two village teams playing against each other.
• Outside Edge, a 1979 play by Richard Harris about a village cricket team; two TV adaptations were made.
• "When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease" is a 1975 song by Roy Harper that captures the atmosphere of a village cricket match.

See also

• List of English and Welsh cricket league clubs
• Cricket in England
• Cricket in Scotland
• Cricket in Wales
• Twicket

References

1. Wisden 148 (2012) p 714
2. "Rules and Conditions for the 2014 Davidstow Village Cup" (PDF). The Cricketer. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
3. "Rules and Conditions - Eligibility Criteria - 2019" (PDF). The Cricketer Village Cup. The Cricketer. Retrieved 23 May 2019.

Further reading

• Heald, Tim, Village Cricket (2004)
• Levison, Brian, Remarkable Village Cricket Grounds (2018)
• Murphy, Patrick & Huskinson, Tony, The Rothmans Book of Village Cricket (1992)
• Thompson, Harry, Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World (2006)
• Whitcomb, Robin, Wealding the Willow: A Portrait of English Village Cricket Grounds in the Cradle of Cricket (2005)

External links

• National Village Cup Home