by Austin Sprake:
An early cricket match
by Geoffrey Godden:
The scene depicts a Victorian cricket match, the bowler having just made an under-arm delivery. This cricketing scene was the first of the sporting subjects to be issued (apart from the horse subjects), and the title first appears on label 14 of about May 1880. Surprisingly, the picture cannot have proved very popular because it was not included on labels after 17. So its duration of issue was limited to a few months; and it follows that THE FIRST OVER will only be found on type B card-mounts.
This silk has often faded; but fine, mint examples show green grass, the batsmen in red shirts, and the fieldsmen in pink, yellow, purple and grey shirts.
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