C Ellis: England Cricket Diary (11 Jul 1998)

11 July 1998

England Cricket Diary

Clive Ellis

• THE eyes of the football world will be on France tomorrow for the World Cup final. On Tuesday the eyes of the cricket world will also be trained on France, or so it is hoped.

  A gala match is being staged at Chfteau de Liettres near St Omer in northern France to celebrate what is claimed to be the first written mention of cricket.

  A document has been found in the National Archive in Paris noting that a petition was sent to King Louis XI relating to a dispute in the village of Liettres on Oct 25, 1478.

  Gunner Le Grant, stationed at the castle, was on his way through the village when he came across "people playing with a ball near a stake at criquet". Apparently, there was an appeal while he was watching and he raised his hand and said: "C'est la!"

  One of the players, C"taine Le Brasseur, did not agree with the decision; a fight ensued and Le Brasseur later died from a knife wound. Le Grant claimed self-defence, hence the substance of his royal appeal.

  The French brush aside any suggestion that cricket was played in England as early as the 14th century, arguing that accounts of a young Edward II "playing at creag" actually concern a different pastime.

  Apart from Tuesday's encounter - against Kent Over-50s - in the very field where blood was shed in 1478, a plaque will be unveiled to commemorate the unholy exchange of Le Grant and Le Brasseur.

  The only trouble is, if the French beat Brazil tomorrow, the World Cup party could merge with Bastille Day celebrations on Tuesday, and events in the Pas de Calais may just be overlooked.

• MAYBE our pre-biblical cousins were already familiar with the subtleties and social niceties of cricket. The Museum of London's Thames Archaeology Survey have uncovered what looks remarkably like a 5,000-year-old bat on the banks of the river at Chelsea. The oak implement has been carbon-dated to between 3540BC and 3360BC.

Cricket still awaits the television benefits of de-listing home Tests, but it hasn't done a bad job of tapping into Lottery money over the past three years.

Figures released by the English Sports Council this week show that cricket has received 428 awards - 48 more than the next most 'deserving' sport, tennis -bringing in a total of more than oe52 million.

The majority of the small-scale awards have gone towards small-club facilities, changing rooms and pitches, but Nottinghamshire's re-development at Trent Bridge received a oe5 million nudge in the right direction and Hampshire have been given oe7 million towards their new ground.

• FIRST they were the Deloitte Ratings, then they were under the Coopers & Lybrand umbrella; now Test cricketers are assessed under the banner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers. It all reflects the merger-happy world of accountancy.

For the record, the present chart-toppers in a Ted Dexter-inspired scheme which was launched in 1987 are Sachin Tendulkar and Allan Donald.

• ESSEX, who will be trying today to become the final winners of the Benson and Hedges Cup, have the prospect of a cultural adventure in the county tomorrow week when Buckhurst Hill hosts a Sri Lanka Day.

Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya, who flew in earlier this week for Sri Lanka's short tour, will be guests of honour at an event which will raise funds to buy sports equipment for needy children in the provincial areas of the island. Organisers have been encouraged by a good wishes letter from Buckingham Palace.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)