History, Politics & Society
Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to umpire a match in which the bowlers wore top hats, and gentlemen thought that wearing pads and gloves was beneath their dignity?
'The Meadow at Chapel Hill Cross' takes you back to the opening of the first “proper” cricket ground in Torquay, and to the match against the famous All England Eleven which celebrated it. The author dreams that he is asked to umpire this match, and takes the reader with him into a world of cunning under-arm bowlers, and round-arm pacemen who hurl “tosses” at the batsman’s head. You get to listen to the chat of some of the finest cricketers in the game’s history, Old Clarke, George Parr, and the laugh-a-minute Billy Buttress.
Neither umpires, nor the world’s leading professionals, are allowed into the sanctity of the members’ pavilion, so the author must glimpse through the doorways, and spend his time, sharing jugs of ale with those who attracted thousands to watch, yet were deemed unworthy of a gentleman’s company. Welcome to a world of cricket where sheep crop the grass, the groundsman stamps the turfs, the fielders chase “booth balls”, and boundaries are not even dreamed of!
It is a world which will fascinate you, and a journey that you will always remember!
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Having played cricket on this ground many times, the author made it easy to imagine what it must have been like to be there for the first important game some 170 years earlier. Authentic throughout, the story flows easily & what's not to love about cricket and your imagination to while away a few hours on a summer afternoon!
If you have any interest in cricket or have played in the Devon area you will be captivated. The way the author has worked in the technical details of the bowling actions with the story of that memorable event is very clever, the descriptions of the ground and the interaction of the crowd easily transports you back in time. With the illustrations of the gentlemen cricketers it's also educational, a very well written and an enjoyable read
