A look back, 2009

Fifty years on from the Broadhalfpenny Brigands’ first forays at Broadhalfpenny Down, the Golden Jubilee summer of 2009 featured 25 games with 9 victories, twelve losses, four draws, and countless batting collapses.

The year began with a familiar warning; IBM winning a game from a position of 62 for 8.  There were other days for Brigands to forget. 38 all out against London New Zealand, 49 against Old Windsor, and another sub-50 wobble versus the Twelfth Man. There was the usual mid-season scramble for players; the game against Bacchus was 9-a-side, and 5 guests were drafted in to play Wayfarers.

There were highs too. Ewan Lovett-Turner took 5 wickets with swing bowling against Vagabonds, Barney Wyld blasted 63* to bury the Gosport GPs, Jake Peach scored his maiden half-century, and then a majestic 80 against the Wayfarers. Andrew Polson’s opening spell five-for announced that, Jubilee or not, straight and full still works here.

Vagabonds v Brigands, 2009

Golden Jubilee Week brought colour too, not least the Australian Indigenous XI’s visit. John Cook’s polished 122 against Woolhope helped bring “the Ashes” back to the cradle of cricket.

There was a close game between the Blind and Visually Impaired sides of Hampshire and Sussex, a family day and a festival match against the Kenya Kongonis.

A fine Brigands performance against the Stragglers of Asia saw the visitors strangled for just 86. Against Shedfield, all-rounder Dexter Small smashed an 83-ball century, including a six and 16 fours. He then took 5 wickets, the last one courtesy of a sharp catch at cover by John Musters, and became the first and only Brigand to achieve a hundred and a five-wicket haul in the same match. Small was playing Southern League Premier Cricket for Havant on Saturdays and enjoyed his day off at Broadhalfpenny Down.

Behind the scenes, Rod, Nina, and Harry produced cricket wickets and a manicured outfield. The Bat & Ball Inn, never far away, reminded visitors of the legends that had once played cricket in the Eighteenth Century for 500 guineas a match, and where, in 2009, the Brigands kept the story going.

Brigands squad in the Cheriton Sixes tournament, Dexter Small by the monument after his hundred & 5 wickets

Brigands entered a team in the 16th Cheriton Sixes tournament, which featured smart Royal Navy cricket kit and a memorable win against Ventnor.

All this played out in a warm summer that peaked at 33°C for the match against the Cricket Society day, when radios crackled as Andrew Strauss’ England reclaimed the Ashes at The Oval.

The cricket season ended in a rare away match and a 21-run win at Hawkley, built on Dom Humphrey’s unbeaten 120, a Nick Harris fifty, and a fiery bowling spell from Jake Peach. Hawkley were showing off their new pavilion, including a roof with strengthened tiles, and were a bit upset when a Harris six punctured a ball-sized hole through one of them.

And to wrap things up, in October, at the Rose Bowl, Brigands and friends gathered for an end-of-season Jubilee Dinner, including legends who had first worn the Blue and Green cap in the 1950s.

The roll-call at the Golden Jubilee Dinner

Golden Jubilee game, 2009