{"id":242,"date":"2022-11-02T09:30:41","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T09:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earlycricket.uk\/?page_id=242"},"modified":"2025-06-05T12:37:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T12:37:56","slug":"in-certamen-pilae-about-a-ball-game","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.earlycricket.uk\/index.php\/in-certamen-pilae-about-a-ball-game\/","title":{"rendered":"In Certamen Pilae (About a ball-game) – William Goldwin (1706)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Much is made of the writings of John Nyren, he is rightly credited with bringing life and meaning to the sometimes bland records of eighteenth-century cricket. Although he is rare in this respect, he is not unique. One little-known piece of writing that also explores the emotional side and practical side of the game is a poem, written in Latin around 1706, a time when, it must be remembered, very few records of the game being played exist. The author was a Cambridge University student, William Goldwin (1683\u20131747). Born a baker\u2019s son in Windsor, he had the good fortune to attend nearby Eton College (1695\u20131700), followed by King\u2019s College, Cambridge (1700\u20136), where, after taking his BA, he spent most of his twenties as a Fellow (1703\u201310). While at Cambridge he published a collection of eight mid-length Latin poems entitled Musae Juvenile<\/em>s (\u201cYouthful verses\u201d). After Cambridge, Goldwin moved to Bristol, where he was successively Master of the Grammar School (1710\u201317) and vicar of St Nicholas in that city (1717\u201347).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The poem was re-discovered by an Eton Schoolmaster, Harold Perry. There are at least five versions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n