London Counties was a representative cricket side that was formed during the Second World War by Charles Jones.
| London Counties | |
| President: | Jack Hobbs |
|---|---|
| Founder: | Charles Jones |
| Founded: | 1940 |
| Home Ground: | Lord's Cricket Ground |
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, the government issued an order "closing all places of entertainment and outdoor sports meetings".[1] However, this was soon rescinded and there was instead an emphasis placed on "business as usual" through the war.[1] Sports began to resume once more with a limited schedule. The County Championship was cancelled, but county sides put out teams to play against each other and against representative sides.[1] Charles Jones formed London Counties, a side that played their games at Lord's Cricket Ground, and other locations around London.[2] London Counties played its first recorded game, a two-day match against Northamptonshire XI on 18 May 1940, winning by 128 runs.[3] They relied primarily on established southern professionals, and gained a reputation for being a team of "hitters and known fast scorers".[4]
During the war years, London Counties formed a friendly rivalry with a British Empire XI, a similarly set up representative side. Both of these sides did a lot of work for war charities.[4]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Hayes & Hill, p.128.
- ^ "Obituaries in 1966". Wisden. 1967. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ "Northamptonshire XI v London Counties". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ a b "Notes on the season (1940)". Wisden. 1940. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
Bibliography edit
- Nick Hayes and Jeff Hill, Millions Like Us – British Culture in the Second World War, Liverpool University Press, 1999
External links edit
- Wisden Archive
- Matches played by London Counties at CricketArchive Archived 2017-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
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