I Zingari (from dialectalized Italiani zingari, meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italiangli zingari) are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wandering' cricket clubs (without a home ground), and is well known for its historically aristocratic membership and its colours of black, red and gold, symbolising the motto "Out of darkness, through fire, into light".
The English club was formed on 4 July 1845 by a group of Old Harrovians at a dinner party and thus is one of the oldest cricket clubs still in existence. The English team still plays around 20 matches each year. Also known as IZ, I Zingari is a wandering (or nomadic) club, having no home ground. Uniquely for an amateur club, Wisden reported all of its matches since 1867, but ceased to do so in 2005.
The club was at its strongest in the nineteenth century. It played seventeen first-class matches between 1849 and 1904, including matches against the Australians in 1882 and 1884.
Colours
James Tissot's 1876 painting Holyday shows men wearing the caps of I Zingari.
Its club colours are black, red and gold, symbolizing the motto "out of darkness, through fire, into light". The colours inspired the egg-and-bacon colours adopted by the MCC in 1860, except on the tie the stripes go in the opposite direction.
I Zingari Australia
I Zingari Australia First XI 1889–90
The Australian club, I Zingari Australia, was formed in 1888, and claims to be the oldest social cricket club in Australia, although there are older school, university and district teams. It first played on 29 September 1888, defeating Newington College Past and Present by 37 runs. The Australian club was recognised by the English club in 1891 and given permission to wear the club colours. The Australian team still plays approximately 70 fixtures each year against other club, school and representative sides. Also in Australia, an I Zingari Rowing Club was established in Adelaide in 1882; it was renamed Adelaide Rowing Club shortly afterwards, but retains the same colours and motto as the English cricket club and the club's eight oared boats have all been named "I Zingari".
James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses features real-life I Zingari players, and fictional protagonist Leopold Bloom at one time wears I Zingari colours.[1][2]
Ambrose Abercrombie, the protagonist of Evelyn Waugh's 1948 novel The Loved One, belongs to I Zingari. Waugh based the character on I Zingari member and Hollywood actor C. Aubrey Smith.
In the 1924 novel by Michael Arlen The Green Hat the protagonist has a friend (Napier Harpenden) who wears ‘…his faded I Zingari tie…’
