The Broadhalfpenny Down Tea Room is open on Mondays from 10.30am - 3pm. We serve delicious homemade cake as well freshly baked cheese scones. We are conveniently located to lovely walks and cycling trails. Enjoy a pot of tea or coffee overlooking stunning scenery. We cater for those who are gluten intolerant. The reviews are in; we had a wonderful lady in this week who said "Lovely Victoria Sandwich".

On Sunday evening, Robbie Savage opened his radio phone-in with a question for the nation: which square on the Monopoly board best describes each of the four World Cup semi-finalists? The first caller offered England as Coventry Street. At Broadhalfpenny Down this weekend, the Brigands were Pall Mall and the Old Seagullians were Park Lane. The Old Seagullians are alumni of St Andrews University. In the Eighteenth Century, when the Hambledon Club was shaping the laws of cricke

More wins and losses, and three in a row for the first time this season. 4 close finishes too. There are tougher tests to come, with the visits of Old Seagullians, Sussex Martlets and Australian High Commission who always send down strong teams for a day at the cradle of cricket.

The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City sits at 7,352 feet above sea level, a plateau where the oxygen is thin and where Maradona scored with the Hand of God. And where, last night, England beat Mexico 3-2 in the World Cup round of sixteen. Jude Bellingham scoring twice, Jordan Pickford decisive throughout as ten-man England held on. Broadhalfpenny Down in Hampshire sits at a more modest 518 feet above sea level and hosted Brigands v Saints yesterday in an equally hard-fought sport

Ben Stokes learned the game at Cockermouth Cricket Club, a proud town side in Cumbria, a stone's throw from Jennings Brewery, where everyone knows your name. Before Headingley. Before the World Cup final. Before Bazball rewired the sport. He started somewhere modest and local. At 3.25pm on Sunday afternoon, he announced his retirement from International cricket. At the same moment, at the ground where first-class cricket began, the Rioteers were 73-6 and had other things on t

Brigands 190-5 declared beat Nairobi Nomad 138 all out by 42 runs Preece opened up for the Brigands Preece caught behind Nairobi Nomads brought their supporters, who wisely found the shade for the afternoon The cricket tea was splendid, as usual Nairobi Nomads, 2026

We are now almost mid-way through the 2026 "Third Stump" season, with nine Sunday afternoon games played on Broadhalfpenny Down; three won, four lost, two drawn. It has been a testing summer with one game played in extreme heat, others shortened by the rain. The ground, however, has come through in excellent condition. Credit for that belongs to our ground team. Led by Mark Smith as the Ground Committee member, with Dennis as head groundsman, Cyril on the square and Gail on t

Esteemed historian and author, Stephen Saunders, sent in an amateur radio "postcard featuring The Monument to the Glory of Cricket at Broadhalfpenny Down. Amateur radio postcards carried more than times, dates, and crackling voices. They carried place. This 1988 "QSL card", sent after a contact on 3.723 MHz, turns a routine confirmation into a small act of local pride. The sender, E. J. Gamble, asks for a reply, lists Hambledon as the station location, and frames the exchange

Photographer, Simon Arnold, made a return visit to Broadhalfpenny Down to capture the visit of Oundle Ramblers and their onslaught as they defeated Brigands by 71 runs on 14 June 2026. It was an all-out attack from the first over. Brigands had to be alert in the field Even the spectators were retrieving balls Oundle scored 251 in under 29 overs! Rupert Preece and Neil Wood opened for the Brigands. Ladneburg and Peach continued the run chase Adam Jay arrived for a bat T20 spec

Ramblers Rule the Down as Fish and Chips Take a Hit Oundle Ramblers finally broke their eight-year hoodoo at the cradle of cricket, securing their first-ever victory at Broadhalfpenny Down since they began touring here in 2018. After last year’s dismal collapse for 125, the visitors returned with a vengeance, fresh from a sword-swinging weekend where they racked up 290 against the Hampshire Hogs. Brigands, meanwhile, were facing an uphill battle before a ball was even bowled.

In the summer of 1919, a poet called J.C. Squire rounded up a group of writers, journalists, and actors and told them they were going to play cricket. He named his team the Invalids, in honour of several players wounded in the Great War. For their colours, he chose hospital blue and old gold, the shades of the pyjamas worn by officers convalescing in military hospitals, those pale wards where men lay in bed and waited to either recover or not. A.G. Macdonell watched Squire's

An Evening at the Cradle: History, Cricket and Good Company Some evenings feel like they were made for a particular place. Thursday 10 September might just be one of them. Peter Oborne and Richard Heller, co-authors of Full Circle: A History of Cricket, widely regarded as one of the most ambitious cricket books in years, have accepted an invitation to join us for dinner in the Bat & Ball. They will speak about the book and about the game itself. Oborne needs little introducti