James Pycroft (1813 – 10 March 1895) is chiefly known for writing ''The Cricket Field'', one of the earliest books about cricket, published in 1851. Pycroft mythologised

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

as a noble, manly and essentially British activity ("Cricket is essentially Anglo-Saxon, ... Foreigners have rarely imitated us. English settlers everywhere play at cricket; but of no single club have we heard that dieted either with frogs,

saur-kraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ...

(sic) or macaroni"). His hagiography favourably compared the virtues of Victorian cricket with the disgraceful state of play at the turn of the century where " Lord's was frequented by men with book and pencil, betting as openly and professionally as in the ring at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...

, and ready to deal in the odds with any and every person of speculative propensities". Pycroft was also a cricketer, appearing in four matches now considered as first-class for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(where he was at Trinity College) in 1836 and 1838 and in one for a team called "Left-Handers" in 1838. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn but then became a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

priest and was

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly d ...

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but ...

, Devon, 1845–56. He wrote several books, including volumes of autobiography.

References

External links

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The complete text of ''The Cricket Field'' from Google books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pycroft, James 1813 births 1895 deaths Cricket historians and writers English cricketers Oxford University cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Left-Handed v Right-Handed cricketers Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 19th-century English Anglican priests