Background.

Ball games were part of English village life. Local custom dictated the rules, and there were various ways games could be played. Even football, which evolved into three distinct games—rugby, soccer, and American football—had no set format, rules, number of players, or standardized playing field. In some places the ball was kicked; in others it was carried or thrown. Games could be impromptu or highly ritualized. Teams could have ten players or, in a big match pitting one town against another, more than a hundred. The playing area could be a field, and the goal could be as far as a mile away. Football was a sport for ordinary people. Cricket, on the other hand, was an elite sport from the eighteenth century onward, although others might occasionally play it. Cricket had rules and a defined field of play. Part of...