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Cricket at Lord's thumbnail 2
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Cricket at Lord's

Table Top Game
late 1940s (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This cricket game was a table top action game designed in the late 1940s by the Chad Valley company. It reproduced a Lord's cricket match in miniature in one's own home, in an inventive way that led to Chad Valley applying for patent for the bowler figure. One player would take the bowler, insert a wooden ball into the metal loop at the end of the bowler's hand, and pull back and let go. Tension from an elastic band fixed between the bowler's pivoted arm and his body would make the arm fly forward and launch the cricket ball: the point was to aim at the wickets, and not hit any of the fielding players from the other team, as arranged by the other player. The game also came with a miniature score board, just like the one then seen at Lord's cricket ground.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 13 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Score Cards
  • Game Pieces
  • Scoreboard
  • Game Pieces
  • Bowler
  • Game Pieces
  • Fielders
  • Game Pieces
  • Pencil
  • Game Pieces
  • Cricket Bat
  • Game Pieces
  • Cricket Balls
  • Game Pieces
  • Wickets
  • Game Pieces
  • Score Sheets
  • Game
  • Inner Box
  • Game
  • Box Base
  • Game
  • Box Lid
  • Game
  • Game Pieces
TitleCricket at Lord's (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper and card, wood, metal, varnish, graphite
Brief description
Table top game, 'Cricket at Lord's', produced by Chad Valley, Harborne, 1940s.
Physical description
Cricket-themed tabletop game consisting of several parts.

Paper bag containing 41 rectangular cards, printed on one side in black with a white number and a small hole for hanging on the scoreboard.

Wooden score board. Printed wooden rectangle, white with black text on one side. Nails on other side to hold numbers behind windows in the rectangle. Two plain wooden stands.

Bowling figure. Carved wooden figure on green painted base, with printed paper decoration. Pivoting arm with hook and metal loop attached.

Nine cricket fielder figures. Cardboard cut outs printed with an image of a cricketing fielder, set in green painted wooden bases.

Small wooden pencil, with red varnish.

Miniature cricket bat, carved wood with painted black handle.

Two miniature cricket balls, red painted wood.

Two sets of miniature cricket stumps, three wooden dowels in a green painted wooden base.

Paper printed in red with scoring table for cricket game. 12 sheets stapled at one end with rusting staple.

Small blue paper covered cardboard box. Packaging consisting of a blue paper covered cardboard box base,and a lid covered with printed paper featuring colour illustration of two cricketers.

With the game are numerous assorted home made additions to the game, including a semi-circular metal ramp, one piece of wooden dowelling, two wooden dowels nailed together, a piece of flat wood, a piece of wood with three holes in, a burnt match, some notes on a piece of paper and a newspaper cutting with the configuration of people in a cricket match.
Dimensions
  • Paper bag height: 190mm
  • Paper bag width: 85mm
  • Score cards height: 33mm
  • Score cards width: 20mm
  • Scoreboard height: 106mm
  • Scoreboard width: 127mm
  • Scoreboard depth: 35mm
  • Bowler height: 135mm
  • Bowler width: 85mm
  • Bowler depth: 25mm
  • Fielders height: 73mm
  • Fielders width: 33mm
  • Fielders depth: 11mm
  • Pencil length: 55mm
  • Pencil diameter: 7mm
  • Cricket bat height: 93mm
  • Cricket bat width: 15mm
  • Cricket bat depth: 3mm
  • Cricket balls diameter: 15mm
  • Cricket stumps height: 72mm
  • Cricket stumps width: 30mm
  • Cricket stumps depth: 12mm
  • Score sheets height: 132mm
  • Score sheets width: 208mm
  • Small box height: 17mm
  • Small box width: 154mm
  • Small box depth: 49mm
  • Packaging box height: 25mm
  • Packaging box width: 360mm
  • Packaging box depth: 245mm
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
Given by Mrs Moira Beddows
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
This cricket game was a table top action game designed in the late 1940s by the Chad Valley company. It reproduced a Lord's cricket match in miniature in one's own home, in an inventive way that led to Chad Valley applying for patent for the bowler figure. One player would take the bowler, insert a wooden ball into the metal loop at the end of the bowler's hand, and pull back and let go. Tension from an elastic band fixed between the bowler's pivoted arm and his body would make the arm fly forward and launch the cricket ball: the point was to aim at the wickets, and not hit any of the fielding players from the other team, as arranged by the other player. The game also came with a miniature score board, just like the one then seen at Lord's cricket ground.
Collection
Accession number
B.87:1 to 13-2010

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Record createdJune 21, 2011
Record URL
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