Proof of Innocence?

[Gary Barnett]

My mistake Gary, I was thinking of the May 5th game.

I thought I’d missed it. :-)

[Michael Banks]

Equally they could have started at 12 and broken at 1.30. These matches were often social occasions. But the Incogniti tour wasn't the same as a standard local village or Dorset inter club match.

Yes but after a 12.00 the first team would likely have been all out by lunch. Knocking a team over for 23 after lunch would have taken an hour tops. So even with a 12.00 start you would need to prove a significant rain delay.

[Edward Stow]

I don't have to prove anything.
And you have no idea that it started at 12

[R. J. Palmer]

Here's another potential complication. This comes from the next week's paper, September 8th.

It refers to Thursday being a "half-holiday" and Thursday being the recognized night for local social gatherings, meetings, etc. The game was played on Thursday.

But this cuts both ways. It could mean that the cricketeers organized their game in order to indulge in an evening gathering, or it could mean they started play early, so everyone would be free to go their own way.

I would expect that some of these blokes, being clergymen, might need to get back to their flock before sundown and local train times may have been consulted before organizing the match. But I merely speculate. We may never have a definitive answer, which would "suck."

[Gary Barnett]

Here's another potential complication. This comes from the next week's paper, September 8th.

It refers to Thursday being a "half-holiday" and Thursday being the recognized night for local social gatherings, meetings, etc. The game was played on Thursday.

But this cuts both ways. It could mean that the cricketeers organized their game in order to indulge in an evening gathering, or it could mean they started play early, so everyone would be free to go their own way.

I would expect that some of these blokes, being clergymen, might need to get back to their flock before sundown and local train times may have been consulted before organizing the match. But I merely speculate. We may never have a definitive answer, which would "suck."

Half-day closing was still in existence in my lifetime. On a particular weekday shops closed at lunchtime. The day varied from place to place, but the practice was nationwide (I believe).

On balance, I’d say it would have made more sense to start the match in the afternoon when more people would have been able to appreciate it.

[R. J. Palmer]

On balance, I’d say it would have made more sense to start the match in the afternoon when more people would have been able to appreciate it.

Maybe, but if other towns and villages around Dorset used that afternoon and evening for their own non-cricket events, it might make sense to have the match in the a.m. The clergymen might be expected to make appearance elsewhere. I don't know, though. It seems to me that it cuts both ways.

[Gary Barnett]

Maybe, but if other towns and villages around Dorset used that afternoon and evening for their own non-cricket events, it might make sense to have the match in the a.m. The clergymen might be expected to make appearance elsewhere. I don't know, though. It seems to me that it cuts both ways.

Not sure I understand the first point, R. J. - probably me being dense.

As for the second point, a match started in the morning could finish at the same time as a match started in the p.m.

[Edward Stow]

As Gary says, for some reason or another there used to be a practice of half day closing. The day varied regionally. Usually Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
My family moved north for a few years in 1977 and the half day closing was on a different day, which took me a while to get my head around.
I think it was less prevalent in urban areas.
It was a quirk of Englishness. It bit like how we find it odd that Mediterranean countries all shut up around midday.
I have no idea how or why the practice originated but it died out, I'd say, in the more utilitarian Thatcher years.
Anyway, given that the cricketers had to take time off to play this match, I strongly suspect it took place in the afternoon - which was a half holiday.

[Chris Phillips]

The "Ian Visits" blog has some interesting information on the legal framework of half-day closing:
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles...-closing-8367/

[Edward Stow]

For retail it became law in 1904 until repealed in 1994.
The 1904 law must have reflected an earlier reality.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles...-closing-8367/

[Michael Banks]

I contacted a chap who runs a website on the history of Cambridgeshire cricket who has just replied:

Hi Michael,

I have had a look but found no direct reference to start times for village matches in Dorset around 1888. I am told, however, that 11.00 would be the earliest, with 12.00 probably more common.

…….

So 11.00 or 12.00 - now where have I heard that estimate before?

[Christer Holmgren]

Being totally lost when it comes to cricket, when searching the net I find numerous ”Half holiday cricket clubs” …?

[Chris Phillips]

So obviously this half-day closing fits in perfectly with the report Ed posted of the activities in May to mark the reopening of the recreation ground "for the season" [Edit: which also took place on a Thursday].
https://www.jtrforums.com/forum/pers...475#post588475

In view of the letter above, according to which half-day closing ended in September, did "the season" coincide with the period of half-day closing?

[Michael Banks]

I can’t see even the remotest, tangential connection between a cricket match and the fact of shops having a half day closing? Oh yeah, to try and shoehorn the game into an afternoon start. How could I have forgotten?

[Edward Stow]

I spoke to someone who knows about cricket in the 1880s who told me all the matches started at 3pm.