The road into Hambledon still feels like it narrows towards something special. A bend, a hedge, the Bat and Ball, then Broadhalfpenny Down opens out like a stage, the cradle of cricket under an open Hampshire sky. That sense of occasion is exactly what powered the charity fixtures staged there between the Broadhalfpenny Brigands and the Lord’s Taverners between 1960 and 1972: 13 matches, watched by crowds who travelled from far and wide, the boundary edge lined with spectator

During Cup Final Grandstand in 1979, the impish Des Lynam set viewers a riddle. What is brought to the FA Cup Final every year, but never used? I thought about that on the way to Broadhalfpenny Down for the last game of the Brigands season, after the hottest summer on record and the first I can remember without a ball lost to rain. In my bag was my valued Brigands sleeveless sweater. I have carried it to every game this year and haven't used it once. As a boy I loved Cup Fina

England have just beaten Pakistan 3-0, a Test series settled with the efficiency of an operation that travels with more support staff than players: analysts, a spin coach, a nutritionist, somebody employed to deliver throwdowns. The modern professional just has to turn up and play. At Broadhalfpenny Down this week, it was different; most of the players had other jobs to do. The occasion was the 250th anniversary of the third stump. In 1775 Chertsey's Edward "Lumpy" Stevens b

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 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

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

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.