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

Broadhalfpenny Down, 4.30pm on 11th June 2026 Hear ye, Hear ye, calling all Brigands, Hambledon Cricketers and villagers, especially our ladies and our youngsters. If you would like to learn how cricket was played on Broadhalfpenny Down in the 18th Century, please join us for an early evening of fun on Thursday, 11th June, as we replicate cricket played to the original laws of 1772, with two stumps and underarm pitch bowling. If you would like to join in, please contact Mike

Hambledon lit the fire, but it took a Yorkshireman to bring cricket to London’s elite. Thomas Lord, bowler turned businessman, dragged the game from a village inn to the heart of the capital, and laid the turf for its future.

Before Lord’s, before Test matches, before the Ashes, there was a chalk ridge in rural Hampshire. Hambledon’s Broadhalfpenny Down became cricket’s first big stage, and where the modern game began to take shape.

Broadhalfpenny Brigands’ 2005 season began gloomily. Heavy rain fell against IBM South Hants, the Brigands left staring at 111 all out and darkening skies. Better times followed. In May’s thriller against Nonnunquam, there was a last-over finish: Mike Jarrett became the eighth wicket with five still needed from four balls, and Harry Bates arrived cool, calm, and collected. He blocked his first, pinched a vital single from the next and, in the scramble that followed, ensured t

On match days in the 18th century, cricket at Hambledon was as much about money as runs. For a typical fixture, about 20,000 people would descend on Broadhalfpenny Down, two miles outside the village, arriving with horses from as far away as Reading, Tonbridge Wells and London. The crowd needed feeding and watering, and an entire pop-up economy obliged: tents and banners selling food and drink, punch and pies, and stalls offering bats alongside bookmakers’ ledgers. Tradesmen

The new pavilion was opened on 22 June 1999, after years of planning, fundraising, and construction. The old "hutt" had been outgrown, and facilities no longer met Hampshire League standards, so a new pavilion was commissioned. Initial plans met with objections from some, including former journalist Ashley Mote. Almost two years later, friends, donors, and supporters gathered on a Tuesday midsummer evening for champagne and speeches.

For over 25 years, the Broad Halfpenny Down Association (BHDA) and the Preservation Trust (BDPT) have been charged with the promotion and...

Tuesday 23 June 1772 was market day in Hambledon, Hampshire and on that day the first designated first-class match was due to take place...