Cricket Witness No 6 - His Captain's Hand on His Shoulder Smote

65 The Flood (1) Greyfriars For Ever..And Ever particular attraction for the boy or girl without much money or from an impoverished book-shy home. Here they might find solace with Thomas Hughes or Tibby Reed. The period from about 1850 to 1950 is distinctive in that it was the most word-conscious epoch in British history, a hundred years which separated the oral tradition of the pre- industrial from the audio-visual dispensation of the post- industrial worlds. In all of this literary activity one may discern a theme of national sharing. Although there had been great outpourings of English literature and drama in the past, there had always been barriers, such as inadequate transport, to halt a truly national enjoyment. Much of what might have passed for national artistic output was enjoyed by but a small, well-heeled, often metropolitan set, whereas the more substantial amount of music or art or theatre was decidedly localised in type. Now the mechanics of the industrial age allowed not only for greater and cheaper production of printed materials but also for a quicker and more regular penetration of the nation as a whole. It will not have escaped the attention of the cricket buff versed in the game’s history that it was it this same period and because of these same causes, that cricket emerged as a genuinely national pastime of comprehensive singularity as to its laws and conventions. Hitherto, like most other recreations and leisure pursuits, it had been more sporadic and localised in its frequency and format. It was now that the Victorian novel became the first British art-form to be appreciated by all regions and classes. It could be conveyed everywhere and it was reasonably affordable across the social lines. It is no small matter that the books and comics, featuring schools and school cricket, formed a significant segment in this imperative process. Particularly in the serialised form, this nationwide dispersal became a unifying experience for all. It led to a kind of well-evidenced psychological collectivity or communion of minds. Adults but also children found common denominators for conversation and discussion, just as, today, people may discuss the previous night’s television programmes.