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[(Wodehouse at the Wicket: A Cricketing Anthology)] [Author: P. G. Wodehouse] published on
Wodehouse on cricket - an irresistible combination of England's national Summer Game and the greatest humourous writer of the twentieth century, in an anthology which includes material which has never before benn published in book form. From his days at Dulwich, Wodehouse was a devoted cricketer, and cricket dominates his early Jeeves himself was named after the Warwickshire all-rounder who, like Wodehouse, played at Lords. This delightful anthology of the best of Wodehouse's cricket writings extracts from novels and short stories, humourous pieces and poems -has been compiled by Murray Hedgecock, a Wodehouse admirer and life-long cricket fan, who also provides an introduction with much new information about Wodehouse's own cricket career.
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First published August 11, 1997
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About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,700 books6,951 followersSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 10, 2023
A somewhat scattered collection of Wodehouse's writings concerning cricket - not as funny as expected
May 7, 2020
Enjoyable as always, especially if you are a cricket connoisseur as well.
November 21, 2015
Great book. Fantastic author and love the topic.
April 9, 2020
Mike Jackson. WJ Stone. Mr Downing. Barnes. Joe. Crocker. Bayliss. Conky Biddle. Clarissa Binstead. Reginald Humby. Margaret Melville.
An anthology of various human emotions, written comically, isn't something surprising when the author is PG Wodehouse, or simply Plum. In this collection, Plum has tried to bring out the various emotions in different persons with the game of cricket at its focus. Different persons are bound to look at a particular thing from different angles, and that is absolutely fine. For some of the characters in this collection, cricket is a totally despicable sport, while for the others, it is something which must be deified with the last drop of blood in the veins. However, what the readers get to observe is that, both love and hatred towards the sport can not only bring people together, but also heal mutual relationships and help people learn newer things in life.
Mike Jackson first appears in The Match with Downing's where he puts up a mammoth partnership with WJ Stone which literally makes Mr Downing, the captain of the Downing's team, beg of Barnes, the captain of the Outwood's team, to declare the innings so that the Downing's team can finally have their opportunity to bat on a lovely matting surface. Mr Downing was just paying the price of having an irreversible ill-luck of losing the toss on a day which was best suited for practising one's batting skills!
In At Lords, Mike is introduced as a clerk in the New Asiatic Bank. However, he is frustrated with his job. Therefore, it's not a surprise when he doesn't waste any time in travelling to London as soon as he comes to learn that Joe, the captain of a famous English county side, has earnestly entreated for the former's services in a friendly cricket match at The Lord's, also called the home of cricket, against an international touring side. It is needless to say that, after his innings with bat in that match, Mike never really had to just bank upon New Asiatic Bank for his living.
Crocker, a baseball enthusiast from United States of America, learns the technicalities of cricket from Bayliss, his butler, in Bingley Crocker Learns Cricket and gives lessons on baseball to the latter on a fine morning at the former's residence in London. At the end of the session, he comes to learn that baseball is, in fact, known by the name of rounders in the United Kingdom. Now, such a knowledge would have been more than sufficient for Crocker, who generally suffers from the most awful of agonies during the season earmarked for cricket. What eventually gave him convulsions in his muscles was the fact that, not only is baseball known as rounders, but also it is played with a soft ball in the United Kingdom!
The characters like Mr Conky Biddle, a nephew of a die-hard cricket connoisseur and an equally influential and affluent person at London, and Miss Clarissa Binstead, the only daughter of an American multi-millionaire paying a short visit to London, find their mutual respect and love for each other through their intense dislike of cricket in How's That, Umpire?. The exact opposite happens in Reginald's Record Knock, where Reginald Humby, the main protagonist of the story, and Miss Margaret Melville fall in love with each other once again when Reginald declares that, the reason for him being late for the latest of their weekly meetings is due to him scoring his first ever century in a cricket match - a game equally idolized and played by Miss Margaret!
Other stories in this collection also take the readers through a roller-coaster ride of human emotions in their raw forms. Plum certainly needs no introduction as a writer of comic stories. His timing of comic reliefs, use of subtle humour is impeccable even in the stories in this cricketing anthology. The big revelations obviously come right at the end, but those don't take away the joy of wading through the stories. The stories are light-hearted and meant for readers of all ages. Furthermore, one should never make the mistake of treating these stories simply as stories for lovers or haters of the game of cricket. Anyone (and I repeat anyone) can just seamlessly leaf through all the stories and hopefully come to appreciate them eventually, regardless of her/his knowledge of the game of cricket. Plum has been extremely meticulous in giving his stories a universal appeal.
An anthology of various human emotions, written comically, isn't something surprising when the author is PG Wodehouse, or simply Plum. In this collection, Plum has tried to bring out the various emotions in different persons with the game of cricket at its focus. Different persons are bound to look at a particular thing from different angles, and that is absolutely fine. For some of the characters in this collection, cricket is a totally despicable sport, while for the others, it is something which must be deified with the last drop of blood in the veins. However, what the readers get to observe is that, both love and hatred towards the sport can not only bring people together, but also heal mutual relationships and help people learn newer things in life.
Mike Jackson first appears in The Match with Downing's where he puts up a mammoth partnership with WJ Stone which literally makes Mr Downing, the captain of the Downing's team, beg of Barnes, the captain of the Outwood's team, to declare the innings so that the Downing's team can finally have their opportunity to bat on a lovely matting surface. Mr Downing was just paying the price of having an irreversible ill-luck of losing the toss on a day which was best suited for practising one's batting skills!
In At Lords, Mike is introduced as a clerk in the New Asiatic Bank. However, he is frustrated with his job. Therefore, it's not a surprise when he doesn't waste any time in travelling to London as soon as he comes to learn that Joe, the captain of a famous English county side, has earnestly entreated for the former's services in a friendly cricket match at The Lord's, also called the home of cricket, against an international touring side. It is needless to say that, after his innings with bat in that match, Mike never really had to just bank upon New Asiatic Bank for his living.
Crocker, a baseball enthusiast from United States of America, learns the technicalities of cricket from Bayliss, his butler, in Bingley Crocker Learns Cricket and gives lessons on baseball to the latter on a fine morning at the former's residence in London. At the end of the session, he comes to learn that baseball is, in fact, known by the name of rounders in the United Kingdom. Now, such a knowledge would have been more than sufficient for Crocker, who generally suffers from the most awful of agonies during the season earmarked for cricket. What eventually gave him convulsions in his muscles was the fact that, not only is baseball known as rounders, but also it is played with a soft ball in the United Kingdom!
The characters like Mr Conky Biddle, a nephew of a die-hard cricket connoisseur and an equally influential and affluent person at London, and Miss Clarissa Binstead, the only daughter of an American multi-millionaire paying a short visit to London, find their mutual respect and love for each other through their intense dislike of cricket in How's That, Umpire?. The exact opposite happens in Reginald's Record Knock, where Reginald Humby, the main protagonist of the story, and Miss Margaret Melville fall in love with each other once again when Reginald declares that, the reason for him being late for the latest of their weekly meetings is due to him scoring his first ever century in a cricket match - a game equally idolized and played by Miss Margaret!
Other stories in this collection also take the readers through a roller-coaster ride of human emotions in their raw forms. Plum certainly needs no introduction as a writer of comic stories. His timing of comic reliefs, use of subtle humour is impeccable even in the stories in this cricketing anthology. The big revelations obviously come right at the end, but those don't take away the joy of wading through the stories. The stories are light-hearted and meant for readers of all ages. Furthermore, one should never make the mistake of treating these stories simply as stories for lovers or haters of the game of cricket. Anyone (and I repeat anyone) can just seamlessly leaf through all the stories and hopefully come to appreciate them eventually, regardless of her/his knowledge of the game of cricket. Plum has been extremely meticulous in giving his stories a universal appeal.
August 22, 2024
A collection of Plum’s writings on the subject of cricket: the fictional tales are lifted straight from his works. Also contains match information of games Wodehouse played in throughout his life. Pretty much a must read for any fan of cricket or Wodehouse (I guess that there is quite a lot of overlap in that particular Venn diagram!)
December 21, 2019
Somewhat disappointing. That is said by a PGW fan and also a cricket fanatic. However, leaving aside the literary merits of the contents, the volume is required reading for anyone interested in the world of PGW and his writings. After all these years, he never ceases to give pleasure.
January 13, 2019
One of the most enjoyable Wodehouse collections, particularly if you are ar cricket fan.
July 9, 2020
I am not a fan of cricket so this was a stretch for me, personally, but the writing style is good.
January 19, 2022
A good book to sneak peak into the cricket during Wodehouse era and how much did he like the game. Nicely articulated some lesser know games is the best part of this book.
December 2, 2020
Wodehouse at the Wicket is a book I was gifted by a friend close to seven years ago. I take a while to get around to reading anything, and this book was no different. I’ve seen the cover regularly for ages but somewhere down the line, I somewhat lost touch with the sport for long enough to not want to read about it. The lockdown resurrected, rather refreshed, my love for cricket, which is how I finally got around to the book.
The slim volume is prefaced by editor Murray Hedgcock’s long introduction, which he uses to give the reader an account of Wodehouse’s own stint with the bat and ball and his association with the game. It’s the sole fault in the book, the meandering introduction, feeling, for the most part, like a chore one must complete before arriving at the fun stuff.
Which, when arrived at, is as Wodehousian as it can be. From village grounds to Lord’s, from casual weekend games to serious school encounters, Wodehouse’s work spreads its wings and takes flight effortlessly, translating the on-field action in a simple, enjoyable fashion, and marrying it with his trademark off-field events, with annoying uncles and lovely ladies thrown in for good measure.
This is cricket from a time when it was not filmed and broadcast at all, let alone worldwide. Cricket from a time when England was still the MCC and Australia was pretty much the only other team in the world.
The humour is remarkably restrained – anyone who knows cricket knows just how easy it would be to mine humour from the sport alone. Wodehouse relies on his tried-and-tested method of making the situations worth laughing at overtly, while his outrageous characters lurk around eliciting guffaws with their antics.
It’s a perfect read for a relaxed afternoon and is certain to lighten you up in these dark, dark times.
The slim volume is prefaced by editor Murray Hedgcock’s long introduction, which he uses to give the reader an account of Wodehouse’s own stint with the bat and ball and his association with the game. It’s the sole fault in the book, the meandering introduction, feeling, for the most part, like a chore one must complete before arriving at the fun stuff.
Which, when arrived at, is as Wodehousian as it can be. From village grounds to Lord’s, from casual weekend games to serious school encounters, Wodehouse’s work spreads its wings and takes flight effortlessly, translating the on-field action in a simple, enjoyable fashion, and marrying it with his trademark off-field events, with annoying uncles and lovely ladies thrown in for good measure.
This is cricket from a time when it was not filmed and broadcast at all, let alone worldwide. Cricket from a time when England was still the MCC and Australia was pretty much the only other team in the world.
The humour is remarkably restrained – anyone who knows cricket knows just how easy it would be to mine humour from the sport alone. Wodehouse relies on his tried-and-tested method of making the situations worth laughing at overtly, while his outrageous characters lurk around eliciting guffaws with their antics.
It’s a perfect read for a relaxed afternoon and is certain to lighten you up in these dark, dark times.
June 7, 2012
Overall, this is a reasonable book that brings together a number of bits and bobs relating to cricket from Wodehouse's writings. The introduction by the editor, though informative, is perhaps a bit too long and could alienate readers who aren't au fait with the laws of cricket.
The introduction aside, the collected writings, which include prose and poetry, are interesting, but have less of the typically Wodehousian humour that readers of the Jeeves stories are familiar with.
The introduction aside, the collected writings, which include prose and poetry, are interesting, but have less of the typically Wodehousian humour that readers of the Jeeves stories are familiar with.
October 17, 2011
The book is a collection of Wodehouse's writings on cricket. A lengthy introduction gives us a fair idea of Wodehouse's involvement with the game, right from when he was a student. His stories and articles are laced with the usual Wodehouse touch, though they are not as funny as his Jeeves or Blandings stories.
All in all, a really good way to spend a lazy Saturday.
All in all, a really good way to spend a lazy Saturday.
May 23, 2016
Wodehouse as usual, humorous. But the best thing I loved here is that the book traces the origin of the name Jeeves to Percy Jeeves, a Warwickshire professional cricketer. Here he is known for his impeccable grooming, smart shirts and spotlessly clean flannels.
August 6, 2014
Humourous stories and very pleasant. English gentleman at leisure.
October 9, 2015
Love cricket. Love Wodehouse. Put the two together, I'm sold.
July 17, 2016
A sheer delight.
May 3, 2017
A nice collection of Wodehouse's writings on cricket with a mammoth introduction (which I thought was necessary to introduce us to Wodehouse's connection with cricket and importantly showcased the contribution of the editor) is a good read. The short stories are funny yet they demonstrate the profound knowledge of Wodehouse about cricket. My personal favourite is the poem called The Umpire.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews