"The Rules of Cricket", salmos a capella do séc. XIX, ha ha ha

'Silly Season' à porta, apetece-me rir, e nos últimos tempos nada me fez rir tão gostosamente como estas regras do cricket cantadas a capella à moda dos cânticos de salmos na igreja anglicana.

'Musical joke' escrito no século XIX pelo revº. William Henry Havergal (nomeado Canon da catedral de Worcester) na altura em que o MCC estabeleceu um novo código "The Laws of Cricket" (1884), coincidiu com a época em que o mítico jogador W.G. Grace criava também novos modelos e regras.

É aqui cantada uma adenda de 2003 pelo The London Quartet / Cantabile num disco que de resto não presta. Vale a pena seguir o precioso texto.

The Rules of Cricket – A Psalm Chant:

1. Addenda to "The Laws of Cricket", as
written by the | M. C. | C.: Two thousand code,
second e-|-ditión . two | thousand . and | three

2. With more than one hundred nations now
playing the wonderful | game of | cricket:
it is necessary to write specific | rules for |
cer-tain | territories

3. These rules must be taken with | all due |
seriousness: honour, gentility, | and a | pinch
of | salt.

4. The first MCC tour took place to the
United States of America in eighteen | fifty |
nine: nevertheless, they are still hopeless at
the sport, | Ha ha | Ha ha | ha.

5. France, despite being silver medal holders
of the Olympic | cricket | title: have | little . to be
| proud of | either.

6. No suggestions shall be heeded from America
as to how to "liven | up the | game": things
perhaps have gone far enough already, we are
now playing at night, to piped music, in pyjamas,
with dancing girls, white balls, no, scrub that,
pink balls; that reminds me, | must | go and |
wash my | box.

7. My beloved spake, and | said un.to | me:
"Oy you! You're going to the cricket again, me
and the | kids, we | ne-ver | see you..!"

8. In Europe, it is important that each side
respect one a-|-nother's | territory: occupation
of the crease will not be achieved by the laying
down of towels, even in the morning session, and
remember to polish the | bat, not | bat the | Polish.

9. The cut will be the most effective stroke in
the | Middle-| East: Nota bene -- some of the
English team | shall be | half-| cut.

10. If, at the behest of the captain, any player
should bowl re-|-pea.ted | no balls: the umpires
shall have the power to empty their | pockets.
of their | bundles. of cash.

| W G | Grace


polish the bat not bat the Polish !