Brigands v Refreshers, 16 August 2026

At the end-of-season dinner at the Rose Bowl marking the Brigands' golden jubilee in 2009, chairman John Musters announced the batting prize like this: "At 16 years old, the future of the club is in the hands of players like Jake Peach; and what's more he has younger twin brothers - so who knows, in four or five years' time we might have father and all three sons playing together in the same side!"

He was right about everything except the timescale. It took another 17 years, and a good deal of patience from the twins. At Broadhalfpenny Down on Sunday, Graham Peach and his three sons walked out together in Brigands colours, watched by a substantial and widely travelled clan of family and friends; two of whom had flown in from New York to be there.

The opponents for this well-supported family reunion were the zingy-sounding Refreshers CC, on their first visit to the cradle of cricket. They arrived rather unrefreshingly: no scorer, no umpire and two players short. In the finest Brigands tradition, the hosts covered the gaps. Paul Whittle stepped in alongside Bryan Burns as umpire, Sue Bailey partnered Peter Danks in the Refreshers' scorebook, and Aimee Benfield volunteered as their tenth player. The Portsmouth & Southsea all-rounder, fresh from a winning morning in the Hampshire Cup, had hoped for a quiet afternoon in the sun watching her boyfriend Jake Peach. Everyone except Jake persuaded her otherwise. Bravo Aimee.

The Refreshers' top order made little headway against the nagging accuracy of Neil Wood's left-arm seam. He clean bowled three of them and finished with 3 for 23 from eight overs, two of them maidens. With half the home fielding side unusually youthful, the banter was vocal. "Tidy it up, Nelly!" came a quip from a nameless junior Peach whereupon Wood bowled his second victim with the very next ball. "Banter works," sniggered the larrikin at the huddle.

Holding things together at the other end, opener Stewart hit the gaps, blocked the good ones and made a patient 35 from 99 balls in two hours. Around him an accelerating middle order; Bryant 22, Longstaff 41, Clapp 22 each looked set for something bigger before being arrested by John Brehaut, Graham Peach and Mike Beardall respectively.

The Brigands' fielding was sharp and athletic. Six outfielders scampered, and throwing arms thumped the ball into Paul Bailey's gloves from the rope, with Charlie Peach seemingly everywhere at once. His leap at cover point for Beardall's first wicket was cat-like, and it came directly after Mike's wife Caroline had shouted "Come on, Bearders!" from the boundary.

Jake Peach then earned his wicket, clipping the top of off stump to send back Baloch senior, before Beardall ended Stewart's vigil to make it 156-8. The loudest applause of the innings came from the Peach clan as Aimee strode out to join 13-year-old Baloch for the last pair.

Knowing she would have to face her boyfriend's spin, she had a sudden bout of the giggles, then nervelessly clipped her first delivery through midwicket to a roar that would have woken Clanfield. "I'm not enjoying this," Jake muttered. "Well, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, mate," came the instant reply. The pair added handsomely before the innings closed on a run-out, the batters having unwisely taken on Charlie Peach's arm. 170 to chase after tea.

Tea was a Preece family production of the highest order; sumptuous, and devoured without ceremony by players, officials and a good many visitors besides. As the five-minute bell rang, a rendition of "Happy Birthday" drifted from the pavilion verandah to the ever-youthful Caroline Beardall, who blew out the candles on a cake iced by another woman of many talents, Sue Bailey.

Back on the straw-coloured sward, Brigands chairman Gerry Northwood drove and swept an immaculate 51 from 42 balls with ten classy boundaries. His opening partner Aaron Saunders made 25 on debut and fell shortly afterwards with the stand worth 85. Left-hander Jonty Peach added 14 in a brisk 44 with his scampering twin before skying one into the covers. That left match manager Rupert Preece, 4 not out, to accompany Charlie to his own 42-ball fifty, the target passed with the youngster's tenth boundary. 61 not out, and 12 overs to spare. One-sided in the end, then.

Readers of Ashley Mote's The Glory Days of Cricket; the Extraordinary Story of Broadhalfpenny Down will know the photograph on page 387: the triple father-and-son pairings of Bates, Burns and Mote. Fathers and sons are an old Brigands habit at this ground, and the club has never made much secret of enjoying it. A quadruplet, though? Many wondered whether it had been done here before. A punnet of Peaches, perhaps.

Refreshers CC 169 lost to Brigands 170-2

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Match report by Graham Peach, Photographic credits Isobel Opie, Mark Emerton, Paul Whittle, Rupert Preece and Graham Peach