In the Summer of 1976 it did not rain. The Oval was baked white, and Viv Richards made 829 runs in four Tests. Some summers the weather and one cricketer's form are memorable. 2026 as the hottest summer on record at Broadhalfpenny Down and Jake Peach broke records. He played 15 games, made 579 runs at 96.50 and took 33 wickets at 11.09, conceding 3.93 an over. Peach took the season's only hat-trick and was the first player to achieve Bernard Marshall's double of 300 runs and

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

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)