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

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

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

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

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

Cricket doesn't get closer than this, and Simon Arnold was there with his camera for both innings 31 May 2026, Brigands 210-7 beat Wellington Wanderers 209 all out by 1 run Broadhalfpenny Down, with flags flying, is ready to host a touring team from New Zealand Northwood starts to accelerate. Blackburn survived an early edge but went on to hit a magnificent 25. Brigands going for attacking shots are out! Abdeen, Turner and Peach all bowled, Wood caught at Long Off. The elega

A Very Long Way for a Dot Ball In the summer of 1777, the Hambledon Club played a match on this very hill for a stake of a thousand guineas, roughly £150,000 in today's money. The ground's history is saturated in stories of wager; bookmakers operated at the boundary rope, gentlemen lost fortunes on the result of a single delivery, and the players were not always above suspicion. At Broadhalfpenny Down on Sunday, Wellington Wanderers arrived in their green, blue and yellow bla