Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.
In 1819, Lady’s Magazine began publishing Mary Mitford’s sketches of village life in Berkshire, and was rewarded with a satisfying leap in circulation from 250 to 2,000. This extract comes from the beginning of a reflection on the superiority of village cricket over the professional game; given that Mary was writing to help pay off her father’s huge gambling debts, her point of view is understandable.