CRICKET
(as explained to a foreign visitor)
You have two
sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man
that's in the side that's in, goes out, and when he's out he comes
in and the next man goes in until he's out.
When they
are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been
in goes out and tries to get those coming in out.
Sometimes
you get men still in and not out.
When both
sides have been in and out including the not outs, that's the end
of the game'.
HOWZAT!
-Acknowledgement to the
Marylebone Cricket Club |
(The tea towel the above comes on
can be found found >here<) |

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The
New Westminster Eleven and the Victoria Eleven, in 1865
(click on the above thumbnail image to see a larger picture) |

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An 1863 Cricket bat |
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One of the constants of the British Empire was
cricket.
Whether it was crews of the Royal Navy or squads of the
British Army, cricket was spread about the Globe by these avid
sportsmen.
The Columbia Detachment was no different.
The British Colonist noted that in May 1859, only one
month after the main body of troops arrived at the Camp, that
the men had already cleared the land and were playing, using the
local chain-gang to smooth out the pitch.
The RE team played against the Local Cricket teams, the
Royal Marine Light Infantry team and the teams off of the
vessels of the Royal Navy which visited New Westminster.
Unlike the Cricket Clubs in England, the Regimental and
Ship teams were mixed - Officers and Men played on the same
team.
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This 1870 photo is of a match
being played on the Engineers' grounds at Sapperton between townsfolk
(some ex-RE, perhaps?) and the crew of a visiting ship. Note the
fellow who is probably a Royal Marine in his glengarry amongst the sailors!
Also, note the cedar arbour doing duty as a pavilion.
(click on
the above thumbnail image to see a larger picture) |
The RE Cricket
ground was west of the RE Camp and east of Queen's Park, in the vicinity
of the present Woodlands hospital.
The
British Columbian, February 28,1861
The Bee referred to in our
last issue came on Saturday and although the weather was
somewhat inclement, and consequently the ladies were not
present, yet as regards the primary object of the gathering it
was a decided success. At an early hour about one hundred of the
Royal Engineers accompanied by their band marched to the field
of battle. But it is due to them to state that they had the
field almost entirely to themselves for some time, as but few
citizens made their appearance for several hours. Owing to
pressing business matters, we did not get to the ground till
near two o'clock and upon entering the scene that met our gaze
was the most animated and pleasing one we have looked upon in
this country.
To see one
hundred Royal Engineers including their officers, with nearly as
many civilians ‘as busy as bees’, some cutting down trees, some
grubbing out stumps, and others piling wood upon several
enormous fires, kindled for the purpose of consuming the timber.
It was pleasing indeed to witness the happy reunion of the
military and the citizens; but especially to see the officers
for the time laying aside all distinction, and heartily uniting
with the men in the arduous but praiseworthy employment of
clearing the cricket ground.
Shortly after two
o’clock, His Excellency accompanied by Colonel Moody came upon
the ground, and while the former was making himself agreeable to
the people, the latter was making himself useful by taking hold,
like a good fellow, and working amongst these men.
Wile we would not overlook
the fact that many of our citizens acquitted themselves nobly
from the clergy to the day laborer, yet we must confess that our
military friends carried off the palm from the point of numbers,
time and execution. And when at 5 o'clock the victorious army
retired to Camp, the field was literally covered with the slain.
During the afternoon a subscription list on behalf of the
Cricket Ground was circulated and being headed by His Excellency
Governor Douglas with $50, soon reached the very handsome amount
of $650. In the evening Captain Bulen of the steamer "Hope"
kindly made it known that he would carry down from the Camp all
those who wished to go to the city to finish the day by a dance.
Accordingly that steamer brought down a perfect crowd of men,
women and children, who adjourned to Mr. Hick's new Hall and
enjoyed themselves till 10 o'clock, when Captain Bullen again
placed his steamer at their service and took them to the Camp.
Thus closed the labors and amusements of a pleasant and exciting
day. And while the handsome conduct of Captain Bullen deserves
more than a passing notice, we would express a hope that we may
have the pleasure of witnessing many a happy reunion and many a
friendly contest upon our Cricket Ground. We trust it will be
pushed through to completion so as to be in good order by the
birthday of our Gracious Queen - God bless her!
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The British Columbian reported the beginning of the
Cricket Season of
1862 in this manner:
24th April - Easter Monday was a lively day on the Cricket
ground. At noon the Royal Engineers, headed by the Band and followed
by a number of their wives and children, marched to the ground,
where several Tents had been erected. A number of Cricketers enjoyed
a very good game, while the others amused themselves at football,
quoits, etc. The day was delightful and everyone appeared highly
pleased with the day's recreation
17th May - Ho Cricketers!
Awake from your slumbers and prepare
for the 24th of May!
24th May - Programme for To-day: One gun when the king of the day
peeps over the snow-capped peaks of the Cascade range, the signal
for the ringing of the church bells. A Royal Salute at 12 o'clock,
during which the bells will ring and one gun when the sun dips in
the waters of the great Pacific, at which the bells will again ring.
On the cricket ground a match will come off between the Military and
Civilians, commencing at 1 o'clock. In addition to these there will
also be canoe and boat races, Quoits and base ball, foot ball and
other games and amusements too numerous to mention. The whole to
close with fireworks, kindly provided by the Royal Engineers.
28th May - ... At 11 o'clock the sport commenced on the Cricket
ground, and was kept up with considerable interest until 5 1/2 p.m.
The contest was between 11 Royal Engineers and 11 citizens. The game
was a very close one and elicited much good playing on both sides,
and towards the close excitement ran height as the issue appeared
somewhat doubtful; but finally the superior playing of the Royal
Engineers turned the scale in their favour, they winning by 2 runs
and 2 wickets to go down. At the announcement of this result three
hearty cheers were given for the victors, and as heartily returned.
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We think this photograph
was taken *just* after the above mentioned match by Francis
Claudet.
Photograph courtesy BC Archives,
call number B-03615
(click
on the above thumbnail image to see a larger picture) |

The British Columbian, June
19th 1863
The following is the score of the return match played between the
Pioneer and Engineer's Cricket Clubs in this city:
Pioneer Club
Pooley, st. Osmet..............8
Knipe, lbw, Haynes.............30
Smith, run out.................1
Sheepshanks, b. Edwards.........2
Howman, ct. Wolfenden, b. Haynes...3
Bacon, ct. Howse, b. Edwards...3
Pritchard, not out.....15
Claudet, ct. Haynes, b. Edwards..13
Cole, b. Haynes....0
Fisher, ct. Wolfenden, b. Edwards...1
Byes...6
Wides....17
Leg byes...1
Total 112
Royal Engineers' Club
Wolfenden, run out...3
Hand, ct. Bacon, b. Smith....1
Osmet, not out...22
Haynes, b. Smith...5
Butler, b. Bacon....9
Howse, ct. Pooley, b. Smith....1
Luard, b. Bacon.....2
Edwards, lbw, b. Smith....4
Meade, ct. Smith...4
Brown, ct. Pooley, b. Bacon....1
McMoran, b. Smith....3
Byes....20
Wides....9
Total 84
This return match between the New Westminster Pioneer Cricket Club and
the Royal Engineers' Cricket Club came off yesterday. On account
of the unfavorable weather it was agreed to decide the game with one
innings, the result of which was that the R.E. Club was beaten by 28
runs.
|
Pioneers
Club |
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Pooley,
st. Osmet..............8 |
- Pooley scored eight runs before he went out. He was 'stumped', meaning
he moved ahead to hit a ball, but missed it. The wicketkeeper,
Sgt. Davey Osment, then caught the ball and broke the
wicket (knocked one of those little bails off the top) before Pooley
could get back behind his crease. |
|
Knipe,
lbw,
Haynes.............30 |
- Knipe is the hero of the day, scoring 30 runs before going out.
He
was finally trapped lbw or 'leg before wicket', meaning the ball was
headed for the wicket but he blocked it with his body; you can't do
that, and the umpire called him out. Bandmaster Haynes was the
bowler who threw this marvellous pitch. |
Smith, run
out.................1 |
-
Smith was caught running between the wickets. He hit the
ball and started running, but before he could get safely to the
opposite crease a fielder threw the ball back in and broke the
wicket. |
Sheepshanks, b.
Edwards.........2 |
- My favourite clergyman, Sheepshanks, was 'bowled' by Edwards.
That is, Edwards threw the ball right by him and hit the wicket, thereby
striking him out. |
Howman, ct. Wolfenden, b.
Haynes...3
|
- Haynes bowled the ball; Howman hit a 'fly ball', and Wolfenden caught
it in the air to put him out. (Wasn't it considerate of these
boys to demonstrate all these different ways of going out?) |
Bacon, ct. Howse, b.
Edwards...3 |
|
Pritchard, not out.....15 |
- All eleven players get to bat in an innings. However, two must
always be up at the same time, so you only have to get ten out to end
the innings. There is always one batsman who is left 'not out',
and
here it is Pritchard. |
Claudet, ct. Haynes, b.
Edwards..13
|
- Well done, Claudet. A respectable total!
|
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The
Victoria Eleven, 1860 |
|
Cole, b. Haynes....0 |
- Going out without scoring a single run in known as a 'duck', and
results today in the other players making derisory quacking noises at
you. Unless you are an officer, of course. |
|
Fisher, ct. Wolfenden, b. Edwards...1 |
|
Byes...6 |
- These are pitches which the wicketkeeper missed, letting the ball
roll away into the outfield. The batsmen can then run, just as if
the ball had been hit. |
Wides....17 |
- These are pitches which are so wide of the mark the umpire says
they don't count (like about 75% of the ones we bowl!). The
batting
team is given a free run, and the ball must be re-bowled. |
Leg byes...1 |
- Same as byes, except they bounced off the batsman before rolling
away (which would be 'out lbw', except that in the umpire's opinion
the ball was not clearly headed toward hitting the wicket). |
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Total 112 |
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Royal Engineers' Club |
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Wolfenden, run out...3 |
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Hand, ct. Bacon, b. Smith....1 |
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Osmet, not out...22 |
- Notice Osment batted third, but was 'not out'. That means
that he
was up to bat for virtually the entire innings, with all the other
Engineers below his name coming up as his partners and going out one
after another. |
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Haynes, b. Smith...5 |
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Butler, b. Bacon....9 |
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Howse, ct.
Pooley, b. Smith....1 |
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Luard, b. Bacon.....2 |
- I notice Bowden's giggling, but few of the Engineers had much
luck
against this bowler Bacon, who clearly is hell on wheels. |
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Edwards,
lbw, b. Smith....4 |
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Meade, ct. Smith...4 |
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Brown, ct.
Pooley, b. Bacon....1 |
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McMoran, b. Smith....3 |
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Byes....20 |
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Wides....9 |
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Total 84 |
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This return match between the New Westminster Pioneer Cricket Club
and the Royal Engineers' Cricket Club came off yesterday. On
account of the unfavorable weather it was agreed to decide the game with
one innings, the result of which was that the R.E. Club was beaten by 28
runs. |
- Two innings are usually played, but this being British Columbia it
rained.
- Note that by modern standards these scores are laughably low.
Fewer runs were scored in the 1860's because of bad ground (harder to
get the ball to roll fast or far) and a slow bowling style which made
big home-run-style drives more difficult. |
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The
Victoria Eleven, 1863
(click on the above thumbnail image to see a larger picture) |
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