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The Sport of Cricket has inspired much ''' Poetry ''', most of which romanticises the sport. For instance, Francis Thompson wrote the following poem, ''At Lord's'': : It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk, :: Though my own red roses there may blow; : It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk, :: Though the red roses crest the caps, I know. : For the field is full of shades as I near a shadowy coast, : And a ghostly batsman plays to the bowling of a ghost, : And I look through my tears on a soundless-clapping host :: As the run stealers flicker to and fro, ::: To and fro: :: O my Hornby and my Barlow long ago ! : It's Glo'ster coming North, the irresistible, :: The Shire of the Graces , long ago! : It's Gloucestershire up North, the irrestistable, :: And new-risen Lancashire the foe! : A Shire so young that has scarce impressed its traces, : Ah, how shall it stand before all-resistless Graces ? : O, little red rose, their bats are as maces :: To beat thee down, this summer long ago ! : This day of seventy-eight they are come up north against thee :: This day of seventy-eight long ago! : The Champion Of The Centuries , he cometh up against thee, :: With his brethren, every one a famous foe! : The Long-whiskered Doctor , that laugheth the rules to scorn, : While the bowler, pitched against him, bans the day he was born; : And G.F. with his science makes the fairest length forlorn; :: They are come from the West to work thee woe! : It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk, :: Though my own red roses there may blow; : It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk, :: Though the red roses crest the caps, I know. : For the field is full of shades as I near a shadowy coast, : And a ghostly batsman plays to the bowling of a ghost, : And I look through my tears on a soundless-clapping host :: As the run stealers flicker to and fro, ::: To and fro: :: O my Hornby and my Barlow long ago ! The first stanza of the poem has contributed the titles of atleast two books on cricket - GD Martineau's ''The field is full of shades'' and Eric Midwinter's history of Lancashire cricket ''Red roses crest the caps'' [http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=179781914 One of the most famous pieces of nostalgic rose-tinted poems is Vitai Lampada by Sir Henry Newbolt . Satirical magazine ''Punch'' printed the following poem following a particularly slow and boring innings by Scotton. It mimicked Tennyson 's famous Break, break, break :Block, block, block ::At the foot of thy wicket, O Scotton! :And I would that my tongue would utter ::My boredom. You ''won't'' put the pot on! :Oh, nice for the bowler, my boy, ::That each ball like a barndoor you play! :Oh, nice for yourself, I suppose, ::That you stick at the wicket all day! :And the clock's slow hands go on, ::And you still keep up your sticks; :But oh! for the lift of a smiting hand, ::And the sound of a swipe for six! :Block, block, block, ::At the foot of thy wicket, ah do! :But one hour of Grace or Walter Read ::Were worth a week of you! When Alfred Mynn died in 1861, William Jeffrey Prowse penned a poem in his memoriam. The first six stanzas compare Mynn with his contemporaries and closes with these lines : :With his tall and stately presence, with his nobly moulded form, :His broad hand was ever open, his brave heart was ever warm; :All were proud of him, all loved him. As the changing seasons pass, :As our champion lies a-sleeping underneath the Kentish grass, :Proudly, sadly will we name him - to forget him were a sin. :Lightly lie the turf upon thee, kind and manly Alfred Mynn ! Andrew Lang 's cricketing parody of Ralph Waldo Emerson 's "Brahma" is memorable: :If the wild bowler thinks he bowls, :Or if the batsman thinks he's bowled, :They know not, poor misguided souls, :They too shall perish unconsoled. :I am the batsman and the bat, :I am the bowler and the ball, :The umpire, the pavilion cat, :The roller, pitch, and stumps, and all. Roy Harper 's song ''When An Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease'' (1975) is perhaps the best-known cricket lyric in contemporary popular music: :When an old cricketer leaves the crease, you never know whether he's gone, :If sometimes you're catching a fleeting glimpse, of a twelfth man at silly mid-on. :And it could be Geoff, and it could be John, :With a new ball sting in his tail. :And it could be me, and it could be thee, :And it could be the sting in the ale.........sting in the ale. :(partial) MISCELLANEOUS VERSES Victory Calypso At Lord's in 1950, West Indies defeated England in England for the first time. Egbert Moore, who sang under the pseudonym Lord Beginner, composed the most famous of cricketing calypsos to celebrate the occasion. He was accompanied by Calypso Rhythm Kings, 'supervision' by Denis Preston. It was recorded on the 'Melodisc' (1133) label (MEL 20). ''The Victory Calypso'' also immortalized the spin bowling pair of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine. The calypso begins thus : :Cricket lovely Cricket, :At Lord's where I saw it; :Cricket lovely Cricket, :At Lord's where I saw it; :Yardley tried his best :But Goddard won the Test. :They gave the crowd plenty fun; :Second Test and West Indies won. Chorus: With those two little pals of mine ::Ramadhin and Valentine. Gavaskar Calypso Lord Relator (born Willard Harris) wrote the 'Gavaskar Calypso' to celebrate Gavaskar's first Test series, in West Indies in 1970-71. This was voted at No. 68 at a 'Calypso of the Century' poll (''Victory Calypso'' didn't feature in the list). {Link without Title} The most famous part of the ''Gavaskar Calypso'' is the one that describes how he batted like a wall : :It was Gavaskar :The real master :Just like a wall :We couldn't out Gavaskar at all :Not at all :You know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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