News

The Broadhalfpenny Brigands Cricket Club AGM took place on 4th October 2026 in the pavilion. The Chairman described how more than 70 teams played at Broadhalfpenny Down across the season, representing hundreds of players of all ages and abilities. He outlined the investment made in the ground, including sight screens, car parking, a boiler replacement and roof repairs. He also reported that a generous donation had enabled the removal of the dangerous artificial pitch, which i

Players, officials and supporters gathered for a wonderful evening of camaraderie and good food at the Bat & Ball after the warmest and one of the most enjoyable summers since the Brigands were founded in 1959. Club President, Clive Barnett, opened proceedings with Grace**; There'll always be Broadhalfpenny Just off Hilden Farm Lane Where there's a pavilion small Beside a field of grain. There'll always be Broadhalfpenny Where scorers sit and wait For umpires to raise the fin

Brigands 1988-2026 Thirty-nine summers, 946 fixtures, 891 of them finished and the rest abandoned due to rain. We have combined the archives of Lovett-Turner, Peach and Henderson with results from 1988 to the end 2026. The record - 316 won, 292 drawn, 279 lost, four tied. - The all-time win rate is 35.5% of matches played. - Best season on the books: 2022. Seventeen wins from twenty-eight. - Worst: 1990. Two wins from twenty-five. - Most defeats in a summer: 1989, fourteen fr

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

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

Trevor Chappell rolled the ball along the ground at the MCG on 1 February 1981 and won the match. It was entirely within the Laws. Maradona punched the ball past Shilton in Mexico City in 1986 and the goal stood, because the referee missed it. Cameron Bancroft went into his pocket for some sandpaper at Newlands in 2018 and tried to improve the swing of the cricket ball. Every so often somebody arrives with an idea outside the spirit of the game. At Broadhalfpenny Down this we

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

In the summer of 1775, at the height of his powers, the finest bowler in England was cheated by geometry. Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, a Surrey gardener turned cricketing legend, so accurate he was said to be able to land the ball on a chosen leaf, sent down three deliveries that passed clean through the wicket. Not over it. Not around it. Through it. Between the two stumps that made up a wicket in those days, under the single bail laid across the top, and out the other side, with

On the first day of August 2026, a lovely wedding took place between Alfie and Mae Begley at Broadhalfpenny Down, near Hambledon. The ground is typically available for two weddings each Summer. Any enquiries to Tracy Murley on 07511626932 or tracymurley1962@gmail.com.

West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, one of the greatest cricketers of all time and a Patron of Broadhalfpenny Down, has died aged 89. A brilliant, record-breaking batsman, bowler of finger spin, wrist spin and seam, and an outstanding fielder in all positions, he was the premier architect of a resurgence in West Indian cricket. The fifth of six children to Shamont and Thelma Sobers, his father died in action during the Second World War in 1942 when his son was just f

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".

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.

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