Cricket, A Sport in Verse

Cricket. A Sport In Verse. As the Sun lengthens its days to Summer so a sport begins to dominate the thoughts and actions of many people. This game so encapsulated of village greens, of evening song, of Middle England is now spread far across the world. From the marathon of a 5 day test to the razzle dazzle excitement of 20 Twenty it captures many things; the comforting sound of willow on leather, the slow raised hand of an umpire, the arcane rules and frequent breaks for tea and other necessities sill conjure up the image of a bygone world even though its own is now global TV, night matches and Hawk Eye cameras. In this volume poets throughout the ages share the agony, the ecstasy and share the pleasure of being part of something very different, very special. These poems are read for you by Tim Graham, Richard Mitchley and Ghizela Rowe. Our poems are- Cricket - A Sport In Verse; Cricket At Harrow - Lord Byron; Dedicated To The Famous Notts & Surrey Elevens - Albert Craig; Dad On The Test - CJ Dennis; Cricket - JS Fletcher; Extract from A Shopshire Lad - AE Houseman; Sonnet - William Wordsworth; Ballade Of Cricket - A Lang; Choosing An All England XI In 1896 - Anonymous; The Old Stumper Recites A Piece Of His Own Composing - JS Fletcher; Around The Level Dale - William Perfect; Beirut Wedding Poem - Tim Graham; Lines On A Cricket Match - GK Chesterton; At Lords - F Thompson; Cricket - Herbert E Clarke; Mantra Of The Beast - Tim Graham; A Sixer - GF Wilson; The Vital Question - FAJ Godfrey; That Red Leather Ball - Daniel Sheehan; The Innings - RW Raper; A Cricket Bowler - E C Lefroy; The Church Cricketent - Norman Gale; The Stout Cricketer - R Whieldon Baddeley; The Cricket Club Of Red Nose Flat - J Hickory Wood; The Cricket Match - AM Robertson; The Day Before The Weald - Tim Graham; If Every - EV Lucas; Rhyme O'Bat O My Syk-Em - Francis Thompson; Arma Virumque - Alfred Cochrane; XI Un-Shackled Melodies - Tim Graham; The Deserted Parks - Lewis Carroll; Vitai Lampada - Henry Newbolt; Two Extracts From The Princess - Alfred Lord Tennyson; Song - Alfred Austin; A Vacant Place At The Oval - Albert Craig