Question

Critically analyse the story of The village cricket match

Answer 1

The story 'A Village Cricket Match' is an excerpt from the author's novel 'England, their England' and presents a light-hearted look at the hypocrisy of the English society and the concept of Englishness through the eyes of the Scottish author. This episode is a mild satire directed at the manipulation of the rules which were rearranged as per convenience and tries to shed light on the follies of the English society.

'A Village Cricket Match' is in the form of a commentary of a cricket match being played between a local village team and a team from London. Never being short of excuses and explanations, they flout rules and manipulate the basic conventions of the game to ensure that the result is in their favour. The story begins with a brief description of the countryside surroundings where the much anticipated match was about to begin.