When war made cricket retire hurt
Andy Bull, writing in the Guardian, chronicles the stoppage of the English county season at the time of the First World War
27-Aug-2014
Sticking to the 'show must go on' attitude can be admirable. But when the MCC adopted it in the midst of the First World War, the county season was a jarring interruption on reality. Soldiers prepared demonstrations during the breaks in efforts to recruit more men to the front, matches were curtailed, rescheduled and finally stopped when the dissent gained a couple more voices that could not be ignored. Andy Bull, in the Guardian, takes is back into history.
On 27 August, 100 years ago this Wednesday, a letter from WG Grace was published in the Sportsman. He was unequivocal. "I think the time has arrived when the county cricket season should be closed, for it is not fitting that able-bodied men should play day-after-day and pleasure-seekers look on." Two days later, Field marshall Lord Roberts, who had served in the Indian rebellion, Abyssinia, and Afghanistan, told the volunteers of the City of London regiment: "How very different is your action to that of the men who can still go on with their cricket and football, as if the very existence of the country were not at stake. This is not the time to play games." The very same day, the MCC decided to cancel its remaining fixtures, as did all other counties.