A Village Cricket Match

About the Author & Lesson

A.G. Macdonell (1895–1941): A Scottish writer and journalist, best known for his satirical novel England, Their England, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

The Lesson: "A Village Cricket Match" is a humorous excerpt from Macdonell's famous novel. It vividly describes a chaotic and comical cricket match between a team of London "invaders" and a local village team from Fordenden. Through sharp wit and physical comedy, the author highlights the eccentricities of the players and the desperate, often clumsy, enthusiasm of amateur village sports.

I. Comprehension Questions

Answer: The two teams are Fordenden (the village team) and the London invaders (Mr. Hodge’s team).

Answer: The fielders mentioned are Livingstone, Mr. Shakespeare Pollock, Mr. Southcott, Mr. Hodge, and the Major.

Answer: Livingstone balanced himself on his toes; Mr. Shakespeare Pollock hopped about and breathed excitedly and audibly; and the imperturbable Mr. Southcott discarded the piece of grass he had been chewing.

Answer: The Major is humorously described as having "somewhat lived down the quart and a half," referring to his recovery from drinking a large amount of liquor.

Answer: They were by nature cautious men; one being old (the sexton) and the other being a government official (the postman), they were taking no risks.

Answer: The writer implies that government officials are overly cautious and unwilling to take any risks, even in a game of cricket.

Answer: The writer compares the ball hitting Boone to a red-hot cannon-ball striking a Spanish galleon.

Answer: It is humorous because it compares a sports injury to a dramatic naval battle, adding the sound effect of a drumstick upon an "insufficiently stretched drum."

Answer: Boone was angry because he didn't want to catch the "darned thing"; it simply hit him in the midriff and hurt him.

Answer: The chief invention referred to is the Law of Gravitation.

Answer: It means that the ball hit by the blacksmith went so high that it seemed to hang motionless in the air, momentarily defying the force of gravity before beginning its descent.

Answer: The blacksmith and the baker ran side by side like high-stepping hackneys.

Answer: They were level in scores with only one wicket to fall; they were desperate to complete the winning single.

Answer: They were running with their heads thrown back, eyes goggling at the ball, with an alarming sort of squint and a terrific kink in their necks.

Answer: Hodge reversed his decision. He first yelled "Yours, Livingstone!" but then remembered Livingstone's previous misses and roared "Yours, Bobby!", causing confusion as Livingstone didn't hear the second order.

Answer: He sprang into the vortex and grabbed the ball off the seat of the wicket-keeper’s trousers just as it was a foot from the ground.

Answer: Napoleon's dictum was that it was impossible to have too many men upon a battlefield.

Answer: Hodge disagreed because he felt he had far too many men moving toward the same position underneath the ball, unaware of each other's existence.

Answer: The match was a tie.

II. Paragraph Writing

Answer: The sexton, a man of iron muscle from grave-digging, hits the ball with brute force. The postman, as a government official, is overly cautious and takes no risks. The blacksmith, despite a sprained ankle, roars and runs with power. The baker runs on behalf of the invalid blacksmith, and together they canter along like heavy horses, showing that their professional traits translate into their clumsy yet determined style of play.

Answer: The humour arises from the excessive concentration of fielders in one spot. All the fielders, except the youth and Boone, rush toward the ball without realizing the others are there. This leads to physical comedy where the professor of ballistics is "sandwiched" between teammates, and the ball eventually bounces off heads and backs before being caught in a ridiculous manner off the wicket-keeper's trousers.

Answer: The status quo episode refers to Captain Hodge's attempt to manage the catch. He initially ordered Livingstone to take it, then changed his mind and ordered Bobby Southcott. Because Livingstone did not hear the second order, both men continued to race for the ball, effectively restoring the initial state of confusion and lack of coordination.

III. Vocabulary (Antonyms)

1. We live on the terrestrial sphere; heavenly bodies are on the celestial sphere.
2. The Indian team was very hopeful of winning but their defeat left them forlorn.
3. The young have vitality but the old have to cope with their senility.
4. The heroic mood was lost after the disastrous battle.
5. Don't be reckless; be cautious.
6. Joshua remains imperturbable even in highly excitable situations.
7. Don't be crooked; be open and straight.
8. Peter, a highly indisciplined chap, can never be a part of the highly disciplined school.