A HISTORY OF CANADIAN CRICKET - An Immigrant's Game
Patrick Adams, Lulu.com
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A history of cricket in Canada by an Englishman would normally be viewed with some scepticism but there are extenuating circumstances. Patrick Adams, although English by birth, is the son of Canadians and is himself married to a Canadian. His love of cricket and his heritage have led to him to undertake a general and personal history of the game in Canada. The phrase – 'An Immigrant's Game' is used to trace the early days in the nineteenth century with sailors bringing their own game with them, nicely pictured with an ice-flow standing in for the green sward. Later, the first clubs begin to appear and then the very first International series of matches between Canada and the USA are featured. Early tours from England are chronicled with their mixed success and Canada's first tour to the British Isles is covered in some detail with the unfortunate Thomas Dale taking the headlines. A deserter from the Royal Horse Guards and a much-married man, concurrently, unfortunately, he was arrested and court-martialled. Upon receiving a modest sentence of thirty six days imprisonment, he stunned all present by making a run for it; he was recaptured and the sentence increased by three hundred days. This may well have been caused by an apparent reneging by the powers--that-be of an amnesty granted during the settlement of his divorce from his bigamous marriage. And people complain about the morals of the modern generation! Truth to tell, the book is more of an exploration into Canadian cricket history rather than a general history but Patrick Adams has given us a useful taster for more weighty works that may yet follow. |