Cricket and Community in England

Cricket and Community in England: 1800 to the Present Day is a path-breaking enquiry into the social history of the summer game. It is written by two specialist cricket historians and based on extensive primary research. It traces the history of the sport at grassroots level from its origins right up to the present day. It will appeal to the cricket historian and the general sports enthusiast alike. The book has two main goals: to provide readers with an accessible introduction to the history of grassroots cricket in England and to supply a clear overview of the different phases of this history. The structure of book is chronological but also thematic. Our analysis begins in Chapter 1, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with an inquiry into the nature of early sport and early cricket. The following chapter, Chapter 2, investigates the way in which the first cricket clubs were formed. We then move on, in Chapter 3, to the issue of competition. We will assess the concept of the challenge match and also evaluate how such events contributed to the early development of the sport. Moving into the twentieth century, in Chapter 4 we investigate the significance of the two world wars for the development of cricket. As regards the post-war era, Chapter 5 examines a range of issues, including multiculturalism in the grassroots game, the role of women, equipment and junior cricket. And the final chapter, Chapter 6, brings the story of cricket up to date.