MPs at the Wicket

MPs take to the Oval for a game of cricket

Not the greatest of days for a spot of cricket, but this newsreel item sees a number of MPs (and ex-MPs!) brave the weather for their first outing of the 1924 cricket season. The enthusiasm of Sir Rowland Blades, sporting a fetching striped hat, had been instrumental in getting it organised - and from the smiles as they line up for the camera, it seems everyone was looking forward to playing. Sir Rowland's enthusiasm might have taken a slight blow when he was caught for 0, but the match ended in an honourable draw.

Some of the players had lost their seats in the 1923 election, including Sir Edwin Stockton and General Clifton Brown. There is a long history of cricket at the Houses of Parliament, with the Lords and Commons Cricket Club dating back to at least 1850 and still going strong today.