Errol John, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Cricket and the Caribbean - by Arunabha Sengupta
Read MoreJoseph Conrad's funeral procession and the Canterbury Cricket Festival
August 7, 1924. As Joseph Conrad, one of the greatest novelists in English language, made his final journey to the Canterbury Cemetery, the town was overflowing with visitors and festooned with flags for the Annual Cricket Week.
Read MoreAlfred Lord Tennyson: Poet Laureate and Grandfather of England captain
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, born 6 August 1809, was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland for much of the reign of Queen Victoria. His grandson, Lionel Tennyson, went on to lead Hampshire and England at cricket. However, the poet did not have much of an idea about the noble game.
Read MoreRupert Brooke: The poet with a thing for cricket
Rupert Brooke was born on 3 August 1887
Read MoreMaurice Tate and the RK Narayan connection
RK Narayan’s fascination for Maurice Tate
Read MoreBob Dylan: The Bob Willis and Geoff Boycott connections
Bob Dylan was born on 24 May 1941
Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare: Nature might stand up and say this was a man
On the birth anniversary of the Bard of Avon, Arunabha Sengupta recalls William Shakespeare the cricketer
Read MoreHG Wells: An outline of his cricketing history
HG Wells, born September 21, 1866, was one of the greatest authors in English language. However, it is rarely recounted that his father Joseph Wells was a useful First-class cricketer and Wells himself harboured a passion for the game even if he did not play it. Arunabha Sengupta traces the cricketing connections of the author of ‘The War of the Worlds’ and talks about a brilliant essay he penned about cricket.
Read MoreWodehouse and the Googly Connection
Was there a PG Wodehouse connection to the googly or vice-versa? Arunabha Sengupta finds out
Read MoreThe Cricketing Connections of Lord Byron
Lord Byron, born January 22, 1788, did not walk in beauty; and his gait was as unlike any night of cloudless climes and starry skies as can get. In fact, he had a club foot. However, he did venture onto the cricket pitch in the rather prestigious Eton vs Harrow encounter of 1805. Arunabha Sengupta recalls the poet on the pitch.
Read MoreKurt Vonnegut: Of Kilgore Trout and Cricket Writing
Kurt Vonnegut (born November 11, 1922), who passed away on April 11, 2007, did not write about cricket and precious little about any other sport. Yet, in his writings, Arunabha Sengupta finds eerie, striking and painful description of the lot of the cricket writer.
Read MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning and her cricketing notes
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, born March 6, 1806, was one of the most famed poets of the Victorian era. But, there is enough evidence to suggest that she also played a bit of cricket at Colwall Green. Arunabha Sengupta recounts three references to cricket that she jotted down in her diary.
William Wordsworth: His heart leapt up as he beheld a cricket match
William Wordsworth, born April 7, 1770, the romantic poet extraordinaire, also found solace in watching cricket. Arunabha Sengupta writes about the cricketing connections of the man instrumental in launching the Romantic Age of English literature.
Read MoreAll Muggleton, Dingley Dellers and much more—Charles Dickens and his connections to cricket
he first tour of English cricketers to Australia, in 1861-62, took place as a replacement show because Charles Dickens had refused to travel that far to give his celebrated readings. But the great writer was connected to the game in many more ways. Arunabha Sengupta sketches the various links between the noble game and the most popular novelist in English language.
Read MoreMurder Must Advertise: Dorothy L Sayers puts Lord Peter Wimsey on the popping crease
In ‘Murder Must Advertise’, the eighth novel involving the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey, Dorothy L Sayers devotes an entire chapter to cricket. The game also plays a pivotal part in the plot of the mystery novel. Arunabha Sengupta writes about the book and the cricketing associations of Sayers.
Read MoreJane Austen and the round arm revolution
Cricket is mentioned in Northanger Abbey, but not very flatteringly and only twice. But Jane Austen is startlingly linked to the evolution of the game. Arunabha Sengupta talks about the way about her letters, her words, her relations and the round-arm bowling revolution.
Read MoreWodehouse at the Wicket - Cricketing connections of English language's greatest humorist
PG Wodehouse, the greatest humorist in English language, wrote quite a bit about cricket and was a useful cricketer himself. Arunabha Sengupta explores the cricketing connections of the great writer on his 131st birthday.
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