Catholics v Anglicans: Religious rivalry to be settled on the pitch

[rug]

The Lord's player: A team of priests and seminarians at a practice session in Rome. Photo: Reuters

December 21, 2013
Nick Miller
Europe Correspondent

It's on. The rivalry that was born when Henry VIII raised his finger to the Catholic Church and sent it back to the pavilion has reached its ultimate, inevitable expression: a cricket match.

In Rome on Friday, the Anglican Church officially accepted the challenge laid down by the Vatican's new cricket team.

In September next year, at cricket's holiest of holies (Lord's Cricket Ground), two teams of priests from the former rival, now remarkably friendly Christian churches will vie for a yet-to-be-named trophy.

They're thinking of calling it the Augustine Cup, after the Roman monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/catholics-v-anglicans-religious-rivalry-to-be-settled-on-the-pitch-20131220-2zqv6.html

[47of74]

1. Cool. I of course, am rooting for the Anglicans.

[rug]

4. I'll give you 3 to 1 odds.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

2. I dunno

I can easily see a side of Australian Jesuits winning.

Did you know that the first international cricket match, in 1844, was between Canada and the US? Canada won by 23 runs.

[IrishAyes]

3. Well, it's almost impossible for me not to root for the Jesuits in any undertaking.

I can't pretend to be impartial.

[rug]

5. We're in good hands.