Heatwave takes its toll on parched pitch as village cricketers near Stourbridge brave the sizzling weather
It's hard work, but somebody's got to do it. This relaxed-looking cricket fan takes it all in his stride as he watches the action at his village cricket club on a balmy summer's day.
For more than 200 years, the sound of leather on willow has been a feature of summers in the picturesque village of Enville, near Stourbridge.
The ground next to Enville Hall has been a focus for Britain's favourite summer game since at least July 1821, when a game was played to celebrate the coronation of King George IV.
But while the recent heatwave means there is little risk of rain stopping play, the dry summer does mean that the groundsman has his work cut out keeping the pitch in tip-top condition.
These pictures taken by Kinver photographer Graham Gough capture the idyllic image of a lazy afternoon watching the game, although you feel for the players out on the crease, who must be finding it thirsty work.
While the pitch may look like it could do with a drop of rain at the moment, the ground was once famed around the world for its superb playing surface.
In August 1857, a London newspaper compared the ground at Enville to that of Lords', and concluded that Enville was chosen ahead of Lords to host a match, and therefore must be considered the finest cricket ground in the world.
Graham, 85, who was chief photographer at the Express & Star's Dudley office until his retirement in 2001, still enjoys capturing the Great British weather on his camera. He also took pictures of the similarly arid Sheepwalks Hill on the Enville Estate.
"Normally at this time of year there would be hundreds of sheep grazing there," he observed, but they seem to be taking a breather at the moment.
