London Counties
President: Jack Hobbs
Founder: Charles Jones
Founded: 1940
Home Ground: Lord's Cricket Ground

London Counties was a representative cricket side that was formed during the Second World War by Charles Jones.

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, the government issued an order "closing all places of entertainment and outdoor sports meetings".[1] However, this was soon rescinded and there was instead an emphasis placed on "business as usual" through the war.[1] Sports began to resume once more with a limited schedule. The County Championship was cancelled, but county sides put out teams to play against each other and against representative sides.[1] Charles Jones formed London Counties, a side that played their games at Lord's Cricket Ground, and other locations around London.[2] London Counties played its first recorded game, a two-day match against Northamptonshire XI on 18 May 1940, winning by 128 runs.[3] They relied primarily on established southern professionals, and gained a reputation for being a team of "hitters and known fast scorers".[4]

During the war years, London Counties formed a friendly rivalry with a British Empire XI, a similarly set up representative side. Both of these sides did a lot of work for war charities.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hayes & Hill, p.128.
  2. ↑ "Obituaries in 1966". Wisden. 1967. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Northamptonshire XI v London Counties". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  4. 1 2 "Notes on the season (1940)". Wisden. 1940. Retrieved 18 October 2009.

Bibliography

  • Nick Hayes and Jeff Hill, Millions Like Us – British Culture in the Second World War, Liverpool University Press, 1999


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