Cricket - A Sport Of Peace

For many years now, cricket has been associated with Britain and even today, in local towns and villages, the cricket pitches are seen as sacred ground. At the outbreak of the First World War, when TV sets didn't exist, cricket was on everyone's calendar. Whether it was the men playing, the women who made the sandwiches, cakes and tea or the children watching and hoping to be able to play when they were older. Villages and towns would compete against each other to win cups and titles and back then would have been seen as our today's world cup but in cricket.

When the First World War broke, it was decided that the game would be abandoned for the duration. As we now know, this was to be a gruelling four years, but don't forget at the time, they thought it would be all over by Christmas. Many of the players, grounds men and officials volunteered to fight so they wouldn't have had the men there to play anyway. In the same way that the Pal's battalions were formed, you could find the whole of a cricket team and their grounds men fighting alongside each other. Even when it came to training, men were taught to throw a grenade in the same way that you would throw a cricket ball. It was just assumed that everyone played cricket.

As always with war, the number of those men who were seriously injured or even killed was high. When the game of cricket returned to play in 1919, good players became few and far between. Some had been killed, others had lost limbs or had be left blind, deaf or dumb. Some just couldn't face playing the game, being happy, when others had suffered so badly.

As a mark of respect, pavilions around the country created a memorial which included a roll of honour of those who had lost their life. Many of these memorials are still there today if you look closely. A staggering 274 first class cricketers and 4 test cricketers were killed as a result of the First World War. This number doesn't include those players who just played cricket for a bit of fun, neither does that include players of any other sport.

These men are just some of the many who seem to have been forgotten. When you watch a cricket match, most of the time they aren't mentioned. If you go to a cricket pitch, why not take a moment to remember those who fought for our freedom and say your thanks to them, to ensure that they are never, ever forgotten.