England and cricket were synonymous with each other, it was indeed a part of everyday life, and the romance of life in the English country side was synonymous with cricket. Lords after all is the Mecca of cricket, and every cricketer worth his salt has this inert hope in his heart that one day he would get an occasion to stand in the haloed portals of Lords. A cat has been set among the pigeons by the announcement that cricket after all is not synonymous with England but it is Belgium that should be credited with its origin. Two academics from Germany and Australia have put forward this premise and the cricketing world of England, the stiff nose has been given a bloody punch. The researchers  Dr Paul Campbell while studying at the Australian National University in Canberra and supported by Dr. Heiner Gillmeister of the department of English at the University of Bonn have suggested that  the term “cricket” has its origins in the Flemish phrase “met de krik ketsen”, or “to chase with a curved stick”.

To buttress their claim they have also brought to light the earliest reference in this regard. It is in a poem written by the English poet John Skelton in 1533, The Image of Ipocrisie. The poem refers to Flemish weavers who settled in southern England as “kings of crekettes”. It also alludes reference to “wickettes”, the name of the three stumps that bowlers aim to hit to dismiss a batsman. Prior to this the reference that was being sighted as a proof that cricket originated in England was from a 1598 report of a court case involving a dispute over land in Guildford and the world’s first cricket club, Hambledon.

Dr. Gillmeister, who is a linguist and specializes in researching the origins of sports, holds the view that in the 14 century there was a large scale migration to southern England by Flemish weavers. “The word wickettes is Flemish, meaning a small gate in a sheep pen. I have no doubt it was a Flemish game,” says Dr. Gillmeister, who admits his many media appearances on the topic may have ruffled some English feathers.

English call this as another attempt by Australia to get under the skin of the English before the start of new Ashes series.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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