CRICKET IN ENGLAND : 1000 to 1300 AD
When the Normans conquered England in 1066, they adapted the Saxon bat-and-ball sport into their own lawn-based feudal recreations....and, in the process, created a new kind of sport, which they apparently called "creagh" or "cricke".Joseph of Exeter, in 1183, gives the first complete description of this co-ed community activity. A ball is thrown at (and hit by) a batter wielding a staff which looks like today's baseball bat...the batter protects a piece of wood, perhaps a log or tree-stump, resting on a gate-like stand(could this be the origin of the term "stumps" in modern cricket?)...fielders are positioned all around... This sport has clearly been going on for some time, and Joseph of Exeter calls it a"merrye" weekend recreation.
Geoffrey Chaucer, in his Canterbury Tales, also mentions "cricke" being played in the 12th and 13th centuries...and King Edward II's household budget even refers to payments made for a "cricke" coach!
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