There’s a humble sheet of paper on the wall in the clubhouse at Goodwood. Not so much yellow with age as tea-brown, it lists the oldest rules of cricket in known existence, as they were drawn up for two matches in July and August 1727between the 2nd Duke of Richmond and a Mr Brodrick – one of them being at Goodwood.
A close inspection reveals some curiosities. The wicket was to be 23 yards long. There were to be twelve “Gamesters” per side. To score a run, the “Batt Men” were to touch the umpire’s Stick. (Don’t suggest that to a Jamaican.) Odder still, the rules appear to specify that if the ball is caught, then “Cloathed or not Cloathed the striker is out”. Was there a possibility that the batsmen might be … Uncloathed? Has this anything to do with the touching of the umpire’s Stick? Or is my reading of early eighteenth-century copperplate awry?Perhaps more familiar to modern cricketers is the stipulation that “if any of the Gamesters shall speak or give their opinion on any Point of the Game, they are to be turned out or voided in the match”, although this judicious rule was “not to extend to the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick”. It’s always been the same: one rule for them, one rule for the rest of us…
The Goodwood ground, in short, is historic. It is also beautiful, and plays true – being given the kind of soigné grooming that only a Duke’s private ground can be. That might partly explain why, with the exception of an unlucky Benno, our first five batsman all carried their bats. Al, the Skipper and OC all retired after passing their allotted 25, OC having reached his 27 in a veritable flurry of just 13 balls, giving him an extraordinary stroke rate of 207.69, according to the inestimable and unerring Play Cricket. Sepia and G, our final pair, were hardly less energetic. They picked out the gaps unerringly and scampering between the wickets like a couple of 20-year-olds.
Our score, at 20 overs, was 152, a total admittedly boosted by no fewer than 20 wides and some suspiciously inconsistent fielding by Benno, who kindly helped Goodwood out in the field. The President (1 for 24) and Head of Trout (1 for 22) opened the bowling in their customary precise and economical style, and were both rewarded with a wicket – the President taking off the bails while Head of Trout procured an excellent catch by Rishi, inviting the rash drive as he so often does. After eight overs, the Skipper brought on the spinners. Sepia (2 for 17), at one end, showed exactly how it is done, while at the other end the Bard (0 for 23) very helpfully demonstrated the opposite lesson. Perhaps the most satisfying of Sepia’s wickets wasn’t the clean-bowled ball but the one that beat the bat with its deceptive flight and allowed G to dart in and whip off the bails. There’s nothing like a good stumping. As Goodwood’s innings limped to its now-inevitable conclusion, Rishi came on, his sheer pace proving all but unplayable for Goodwood’s number 7. When he switched to off-spin, as a gentlemanly gesture towards the visibly less experienced number 8, it didn’t help her much. Rishi finished with figures of 2 for 5 off four overs. The last two overs were handed to ornithologist-in-chief, OC (0 for 4), and Shaun (0 for 4), who made his bowling debut for the Racqueteers – and made it well.
We won by 44 runs, having taken six wickets and conceded 1. It was perhaps not the strongest team Goodwood have fielded against us, but it was still an excellent result for the Racqueteers. Best of all, everyone kept their Cloathes on and nobody touched the umpire’s Stick.
The Racqueteers Cricket Club 