The Nursery of English Cricket On this day in 1970, the South Yorkshire Times published the Summer Holiday notes of one of its cricket-loving journalists, Alan Banks. He covers the ground's history, the characters that performed here, and, like many visitors, bowls an imaginary ball in his mind's eye. Alan Banks, published 22 August 1970

At the end-of-season dinner at the Rose Bowl marking the Brigands' golden jubilee in 2009, chairman John Musters announced the batting prize like this: "At 16 years old, the future of the club is in the hands of players like Jake Peach; and what's more he has younger twin brothers - so who knows, in four or five years' time we might have father and all three sons playing together in the same side!" He was right about everything except the timescale. It took another 17 years,

On the final morning at Headingley in July 1948, England declared on 365-8 and set Australia 404 to win in 345 minutes. Nobody had ever chased 400 to win a Test match. The pitch was worn, taking spin and bounce, and England had run the heavy roller over it for good measure. The Yorkshire papers had Australia out by lunch. Instead Arthur Morris made 182, Don Bradman 173 not out, the pair added 301 in a little over three and a half hours, and Australia won by seven wickets with

On Sunday 6 September, Broadhalfpenny Down marks 250 years since cricket gained its third stump; and we need volunteers to help the day run properly. The story is worth knowing. In 1775, Chertsey's Edward "Lumpy" Stevens sent three deliveries clean between John Small's two stumps without so much as brushing the bail. Not out, said the law. Lumpy was robbed, said everyone watching. Within months the game's leading figures - men who met and argued across the road at the Bat & B

Brigands v Chertsey Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon, Hampshire, PO8 0UB Sunday 6 September, 12:30pm to 5:30pm. Free entry. All welcome. @cradleofcricket Enquiries to Gerry Northwood for more details (see Contacts page)

Noah Mann lived near Petworth and made shoes for a living. He was born in Sussex in 1756, and every Tuesday through the summer he rode 20 miles to Broadhalfpenny Down to practise, then 20 miles home again. Left-handed, a powerful hitter, he swung the ball and could pick a handkerchief off the turf at full gallop. There was no such thing as Hambledon against Sussex in his day; "Hampshire & Sussex" was simply what the rest of the country called the Hambledon Club. Mann played 5

In the summer of 1775, at the height of his powers, the finest bowler in England was cheated by geometry. Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, a Surrey gardener turned cricketing legend, so accurate he was said to be able to land the ball on a chosen leaf, sent down three deliveries that passed clean through the wicket. Not over it. Not around it. Through it. Between the two stumps that made up a wicket in those days, under the single bail laid across the top, and out the other side, with

On the first day of August 2026, a lovely wedding took place between Alfie and Mae Begley at Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon. The ground is typically available for two weddings each Summer. Any enquiries to Tracy Murley on 07511626932 or tracymurley1962@gmail.com.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: for Brigands to field ten men once might be considered a misfortune. To do it two matches running looks like carelessness. At Broadhalfpenny Down on Wednesday, thanks to a printer issue of all things, ten Brigands took the field against eleven from Whitchurch, the visitors marking 250 years and welcoming back Hampshire and MCC wicketkeeping favourite Paul Bailey. Whitchurch won the toss and invited the home side to bat. Sue Bailey and Peter Danks se

The Stragglers of Asia are perhaps the best-travelled side on the Brigands' fixture list, so we turn to the author Pete McCarthy for guidance. In his 2000 book about a journey round Ireland, McCarthy set down a numbered list of Rules of Travel; never given in full, the numbers jumping about, which was the joke. He died in 2004, aged fifty-two, with a third book unfinished. The Brigands have taken his list and revised it. A good number were observed on Sunday, and one of them

Sportsmanship is a mysterious business. Hard to define, yet everyone knows it the instant they see it. This weekend, we observed it at the World Cup when Jude Bellingham picked up the ball for a late penalty glanced across at Bukayo Saka on a hat-trick, and simply handed it over. "Go and get it," he said. Saka scored. Cricket had offered its own version a year earlier, when South Africa's Wiaan Mulder, unbeaten on 367 and 33 short of Brian Lara's world Test record, declared r

West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, one of the greatest cricketers of all time and a Patron of Broadhalfpenny Down, has died aged 89. A brilliant, record-breaking batsman, bowler of finger spin, wrist spin and seam, and an outstanding fielder in all positions, he was the premier architect of a resurgence in West Indian cricket. The fifth of six children to Shamont and Thelma Sobers, his father died in action during the Second World War in 1942 when his son was just f