VILLAGE CRICKET. [Author SIGNED copy.]

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,author SIGNED,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn,but author's neat,handwritten,blue ink signature - without dedication - to title page,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,colour pictorial artwork painting 'The Cricket Match' by Maggie Rowe illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present - almost as new! Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean and pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - an unread copy? Publisher's bright, clean,sharp-cornered,original plain dark green cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip,with immaculate plain white endpapers.UK, 8vo HB+dw/dj,author SIGNED,1st edn,2-248pp [paginated] includes introduction,11 chapters,b/w line illustrated chapter head+tail pieces by Paul Cox,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title page,author SIGNED title page,and contents+acknowledgements pages. Village cricket has been a defining feature of English life for the best part of two hundred years.At an annual cricket dinner (as vital a part of village cricket as the game itself), Tim Heald found himself wondering about the essential characteristics of this remarkable institution: what exactly it was,how it had got there,and whether our prejudices matched its reality.To investigate its past and present,Tim Heald sets off on a tour that takes him from Cornwall to Lancashire,from the cradle of cricket in Kent and Sussex to Lord's itself.He pores through the pages of Wisden,Dickens and A.G. Macdonell and even returns from retirement to venture on to the field of play.The eleven that he captains against a scratch team from his local club includes the formidable talent of two of his sons,a very modern major-general and the Bishop of Truro.Yet somehow the author still ends up with dramatic bruising to his calves,chest and ego. One great historian wrote that if the French had played cricket they would never have had a revolution.While Tim Heald never goes quite as far as this,he demonstrates that, contrary to what some sceptics believe, there is much more to it than just a game. 'Village Cricket' is an examination of Englishness,and a portrait of the nature of our best-loved sport - quirky,elusive,funny,friendly and socially fulfilling. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight and the value of this item, for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **