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All first-class cricket was cancelled in the 1940 to 1944 English cricket seasons because of the Second World War; no first-class matches were played in England after Friday, 1 September 1939 until Saturday, 19 May 1945. Ten matches were cancelled at the end of the 1939 English cricket season due to the German invasion of Poland on 1 September and the British government’s declaration of war against Germany on Sunday 3 September. Although eleven first-class matches were arranged during the 1945 season following the final defeat of Germany in early May, it was not until the 1946 season that normal fixtures, including the County Championship and Minor Counties Championship, could resume. In contrast with much of the First World War, it was realised in the 1940s that cricket had its part to play in terms of raising both public morale and funds for charity. Efforts were made to stage matches whenever opportunity arose, especially if a suitable number of top players could be assembled. From the summer of 1941 onwards, teams such as the British Empire Eleven toured the country raising money for war charities. At league cricket level, playing one-day matches, many competitions continued throughout the war: e.g., the Birmingham League, the Bradford League and the Lancashire League.〔Birley, Derek; ''A Social History of English Cricket'', pp. 267–268 ISBN 1854106228〕 Successful wartime players included Laurie Fishlock, Eric Hollies and Eddie Paynter.〔Andrews, Gordon; ''The Datasport Book of Wartime Cricket 1940–45'', pp. 57, 157, 160. ISBN 1872862004〕 ==1940== In the 1940 ''Wisden'', the cricket author H S Altham, now an Army Major, described his “sobering experience” when he visited Lord’s the previous December. He said: :''...there were sandbags everywhere, and the Long Room was stripped and bare, with its treasures safely stored beneath ground, but ... one felt that somehow it would take more than totalitarian war to put an end to cricket''. Altham reflected the popular (and official) view that ''the game can and should be kept going whenever possible''. One venue where it would not be possible was The Oval, which was commandeered in 1939 and quickly turned into a prisoner of war camp, except that no prisoners were ever interned there. The playing area became a maze of concrete posts and wire fences. Lord’s was also due for requisition but it was spared and MCC was able to stage many public schools and representative games throughout the war. A highlight in 1940 was the one-day game in which Sir PF Warner’s XI, including Len Hutton and Denis Compton (who top-scored with 73), beat a West Indies XI which included Learie Constantine and Leslie Compton (an honorary West Indian for the day). Of the more regular wartime teams, the most famous were the British Empire XI and the London Counties XI which were established in 1940. Both played one-day charity matches, mostly in the south-east and often at Lord’s. The British Empire XI was founded by Pelham Warner but featured mainly English county players. The politician Desmond Donnelly, then in the Royal Air Force, began the London Counties XI. In one match between the two, Frank Woolley came out of retirement and played against the new star batsman Denis Compton.〔Birley; ''A Social History of English Cricket'' p. 263.〕 The British Empire XI played between 34 and 45 matches per season from 1940 to 1944; the London Counties XI was credited with 191 matches from 1940 to 1945.〔Andrews; ''The Datasport Book of Wartime Cricket'', pp. 145–146〕 Although the teams were successful in raising money for charity, their main purpose was to help sustain morale. Many of the services and civil defence organisations had their own teams, some of them national and featuring first-class players.〔Birley; ''A Social History of English Cricket'' p. 264.〕 County clubs encouraged their players to join the services but at the same time pleaded with their members to continue subscriptions “as an investment for the future”.〔 While some counties (notably Somerset and Hampshire) closed for the duration, others did arrange matches. Nottinghamshire played six matches at Trent Bridge in 1940 and Lancashire mooted a scheme for a regionalised county competition to include the minor counties, but it was not taken further.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1940 to 1944 English cricket seasons」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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