Cricket's Historians

Wisden challenges Lillywhite Born in Pewseyvale, Wiltshire in 1823, Gale was educated at Winchester, being in the XI in 1841. A hard-hitting batsman, he played one match for Kent in 1845. He resided for many years in Mitcham, captaining the local village team; by profession he was a parliamentary solicitor. His cricket articles appeared in Bell’s Life, Baily’s and Fore’s Sporting Notes . His first book, The Public Schools Matches and Those We Meet There was published in 1853 using ‘Wykehamist’ as his pen-name; Padwick lists in all 15 books or publications by Gale. He firmly believed in Hambledon as the Cradle of Cricket and his very extensive writings allied to his cricket lecture tours did much to perpetuate that myth. Gale emigrated to Canada in 1891, selling his extensive cricket library at Sotheby’s, but returned to England after a year and died in London in April 1904. The existence of the three competing national cricket annuals – Wisden and the two Lillywhites – has been discussed; the various provincial ones will be noted later, but the very keen interest in sports and cricket in particular can best be demonstrated by listing the main national periodicals devoted to sports and pastimes in the mid-1870s: • The Sportsman – published four times a week, subscription 19s 6d for six months, ‘devoted a large portion of its space to Cricket Reports and Analyses’. • The SportingGazette –publishedevery Saturday, price 4d, ‘Aquatics, Cricket, Football, Athletics were highlighted as its major sports’. • Land and Water – price 6d weekly; ‘Latest Reports from the Universities and a critique on passing Important events on the River, the Running Path, the Cricket Field and Billiard Table’. • The Sporting Life – every Wednesday and Saturday, ‘The only Penny Sporting Paper – Largest Circulation of any Sporting Paper in the World’. In addition to these publications, all of which were advertised in Lillywhite’s Companion of 1875, Bell’s Life was still being printed, but its popularity was waning in face of the burgeoning opposition; The Field also covered cricket, but as the name implies was more to do with field 39