COLOURED cricketers from far off lands were clearly still something of a novelty a century ago, judging by "Crowquill's" comment column for this week of 1903.
"Some years have passed since the first party of aboriginal cricketers came to England, and since then, we have had three teams of coloured sportsmen from different parts of the Empire - two presenting Parsee cricket and the third consisting of Maori footballers from New Zealand.
"Even so, the trip of the Fijian cricketers to England this summer is another and quite new development of the cricket cult. During the last few years, cricket has taken a remarkable hold of the Fijians and their nearest neighbours, the Samoan Islanders. In Samoa, indeed, legal measures have been found necessary to restrain the zeal of the Samoans for cricket within something like reasonable limits."
Moving ahead 50 years, the Journal of January 1953 eagerly anticipated the visit of the Australian tourists to Worcester's County Ground in April that year.
"Already there are indications that the Australian cricketers will be as great an attraction as ever when they open their 1953 tour of this country with a match against Worcestershire, starting on April 29.
"In anticipation of another 'full house,' the club has decided to erect two temporary stands, each seating 500 spectators."
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