Village cricket

2022-11-11T23:54:47Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
[[File:English Village Cricket.jpg|thumb|right|A typical summer scene of village cricket]]
'''Village cricket''' is a term, sometimes pejorative, given to the playing of [[cricket]] in rural [[village]]s in [[England]] and [[Wales]]. Many villages have their own teams that play at varying levels in local or regional [[club cricket]] leagues.

When organised cricket first began [[History of cricket to 1725|in the 17th century]], matches were played between rival [[parish]]es or villages and this form of competition endured. In representative cricket a team includes players from more than one parish (e.g., a team that represents a county or a country).

Village cricket teams are often made up of local residents only,{{CN|date=May 2022}} although some teams' [[first XI]] can include players with connections to [[Minor Counties of English and Welsh cricket|minor counties]] cricket clubs and members of the academies of the [[County Championship|county cricket]] club of the county in which the team lies.

Cricket in this form is often played on a [[village green]] or other public space instead of a dedicated ground, and the public may spectate.

In many non-professional cricket leagues, the adjective "village" is a descriptor used humorously, self-deprecatingly, or, sometimes, pejoratively to convey a sense of amateurishness of some aspect of the team's (or an individual's) preparation, dress, conduct or play.

==Village Cup==
The annual National '''Village Cup''' competition began in 1972<ref>''Wisden'' 148 (2012) p 714</ref> and each year's competition is covered in detail (particularly the final) in the following ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]''. ''[[The Cricketer]]'' magazine is responsible for organising the competition.

It is open to qualifying teams (ie those from villages (not towns) up to a set maximum population - originally 2,500 but has risen<ref name="R&C 2014">{{cite web | url=http://www.thecricketer.com/published/94/resources/documents/VillageCup_2014/Rules_and_Conditions_2014.pdf | title=Rules and Conditions for the 2014 Davidstow Village Cup | publisher= The Cricketer | date=2014 | access-date=May 23, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160408/http://www.thecricketer.com/published/94/resources/documents/VillageCup_2014/Rules_and_Conditions_2014.pdf | archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> to 10,000 {{asof|2019|lc=y}}<ref name="Eligibility2019">{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalvillagecup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Eligibility2019.pdf | title=Rules and Conditions - Eligibility Criteria - 2019 | publisher=The Cricketer | work=The Cricketer Village Cup | access-date=May 23, 2019}}</ref> - and surrounded by open countryside) from across England, Wales and [[Scotland]]. The final is played at [[Lord's Cricket Ground]] in London. The competition's headline sponsor has changed often in recent years; the 2017 competition was chiefly sponsored by British milk producers, Watsons.

==In popular media==
* The ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'' episode "Dead Man's Eleven" has a sub-plot about two village teams playing against each other.
* ''[[Outside Edge]]'', a 1979 play by [[Richard Harris (television writer)|Richard Harris]] about a village cricket team; two TV adaptations were made.
* "[[When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease]]" is a 1975 song by [[Roy Harper (singer)|Roy Harper]] that captures the atmosphere of a village cricket match.

==See also==
*[[List of English and Welsh cricket league clubs]]
*[[Cricket in England]]
*[[Cricket in Wales]]
*[[Twicket]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.nationalvillagecup.com/page/2/ National Village Cup Home]

[[Category:Cricket terminology]]
[[Category:Club cricket]]
[[Category:Forms of cricket]]

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Village cricket