Brigands v Butterflies, 23 August 2026
- Dave Henderson
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the forebears of the Brigands were arguing about whether to introduce a third stump, while the forebears of the Butterflies were fighting over America.
In August 1776, the Hambledon Club were debating matters across the road at the Bat and Ball; the two-stump wicket had been letting bowlers down for years, and a third stump was agreed on the grounds that it would shorten the game.
At the same time, politicians who had progressed from one of the six Great Schools, that the Butterflies now represent, were dealing with a Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia.
Lord North, the Prime Minister and King George III's "safe pair of hands", was Eton, and would end up as the man who lost America. Lord George Germain, who wrote the orders that crossed the Atlantic, was Westminster. Burgoyne was Westminster, Cornwallis was Eton. Two of the signatories were old boys as well: Thomas Lynch Jr of Eton, and Arthur Middleton of Harrow.
The six Great Schools have produced 37 of Britain's 58 prime ministers. They also produced the man who beat Napoleon, the man who beat Hitler, and Will Miller, who hit a six to win a cricket match at the cradle of the game 250 Augusts later.
For the second match running the Brigands fielded four members of the same family. This time it was the Kalras: Paul, with Harry, Sam and young Jake. Harry and Sam opened and went at it from the first over, 42 off 5 and 86-1 off 10, which is not how the Butterflies expected their Sunday to start.
Gerry Northwood hit a brace of boundaries and then hit the ball in the air to a fielder. Neil Wood made 18. Guy Ladenburg made 81, with 15 fours and 2 sixes.
The Butterflies used eight bowlers, and Oscar Chalk was much the best of them, 2 for 7 off his 3 overs. Brigands declared, independently, on 235-8 off 35 overs.
The day was managed by the affable Richie Hay, scored by Caroline Beardall and Peter Danks, and umpired by the debonair Paul Whittle. His visiting counterpart, unbriefed on the village code, was stricter on wides than usual; there were 31 in the match.
The chase began just as briskly, 27-1 off 5, 60-2 off 10, 113-3 off 15. Neil Wood bowled the best spell of the day and got one wicket for it, the dangerous Lily Lyndon.
Tom Perry was brilliantly caught by Paul Bailey and walked; the spirit of cricket alive and well. Rupert Preece, an Old Harrovian and a Brigand guesting for the Butterflies, scored a classy 37.
Ladenburg picked up important wickets; one skied to long off and held by Lee Gray, another one a late cut hit hard at gully and held by Mike Beardall. On the boundary, some of the crowd, including Pete Tomkins, Harry and Nina Bates, spent a while trying to remember another Beardall catch at gully, and concluded there had not been one, ever.
Beardall bowled with flight and solid figures of 1-43. Gray bowled seam and then spin for 1-69, unable to replicate his Saturday League form on a Sunday.
Drinks came with 20 overs left, 129 to win and 5 wickets standing. Will Miller came in at 7, Chalk at 8 and Pusinelli at 9. Partnerships of 27 for the seventh wicket and 64 for the eighth kept the Butterflies in it.
Twice the ball went up towards the Monument and twice Dave Henderson caught it. The first he slid and juggled to see off Chalk. The second he took above his head, an inch in front of the rope, to see off Pusinelli.
Twenty runs needed off two overs, and there was still work to do. Miller hit one in the air to deep square leg in the penultimate over, a sharp chance went down, and four runs came instead of a wicket. The barest of margins.
Nine off the last over. A single, a dot ball, a two, a single; so five to win off two balls.
Miller swung, the ball went towards the Monument, and it kept going, up and over the boundary for a six, and the Butterflies had won.
Over 470 runs in just 74 overs. Another day of sunshine, runs and a close finish in this lovely summer. Village cricket was England's gain, and America's loss.
Brigands 235-8 lost to Butterflies 237-8 by 2 wickets with two balls to spare
Wides 31, run-outs 3, Beardall catches at gully 1
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