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This lively and stimulating book looks at some of the myths and realities surrounding Britain's legendary enthusiasm for sport; and aims to chronicle how sporting traditions were shaped and how they, in turn, contributed to the shaping of British social conventions and attitudes.
Perfect for fans and scholars alike, this Companion explores cricket's origins, global reach, iconic personalities and enduring popularity.
In his important contribution to the growing field of sports literature, Anthony Bateman traces the relationship between literary representations of cricket and Anglo-British national identity from 1850 to the mid 1980s. Examining newspaper accounts, instructional books, fiction, poetry, and the work of editors, anthologists, and historians, Bateman elaborates the ways in which a long tradition of literary discourse produced cricket's cultural status and meaning. His critique of writing about cricket leads to the rediscovery of little-known texts and the reinterpretation of well-known works by authors as diverse as Neville Cardus, James Joyce, the Great War poets, and C.L.R. James. Beginning...
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Broadhalfpenny Down is the Mecca of cricket. The Bat and Ball Inn across the road is pavilion to the whole cricket world. This is the home of the legendary 18th-century Hambledon Club. Every cricketer wants to visit it because they know this is where cricket began. Only it didn't.That Broadhalfpenny Down is the birthplace of cricket is one of the most well-established myths in sporting history. Yet this ground still holds a unique place in the history of the game. It is where a simple country pastime evolved into a national sport; where the crude techniques of the first players evolved into subtler skills.Between the 1750s and late 1790s, Broadhalfpenny Down staged the biggest matches and fi...