Brigands v The Stage, 24 May 2026

Nine men and a boy with links to the theatre and stage arrived at Broadhalfpenny Down to find eleven Brigands with links to a bat and a ball.

There were picnics in the shade of the trees, kids with ice lollies, games of Kwik Cricket by the Monument, 80th birthday celebrations, and the sound of champagne corks popping alongside the occasional sound of leather on willow.

Club favourite, Nick Harris CB MBE, umpired "both ends". He was seen wiping his brow in sweltering temperatures, whilst three well dressed ladies in hats compared scars from their knee replacements.

Captain Lee Gray won the toss and Brigands, batting first, scored 195-5 in 33 overs. Neil Wood spent seventeen overs watching his team-mates have an enjoyable batting practice, and was then out first ball. Later, he had a catch dropped off his first over of bowling. If he were an actor, he might have won a Razzie.

On a day when Arsenal received Premier League silverware for the first time in 22 years, the best trophy on offer at Broadhalfpenny Down was carrot cake at tea. The Harris family recipe features desiccated coconut for moisture or, as one of the younger Brigands once had it "decimated coconut".

There was a recent play called Heartsink in which a character bakes a carrot cake each week and takes it to her GP as a sign of hope, and a metaphor for care, and hope took Brigands into the field on another docile pitch.

The Stage survived some early scares and got to 37-0 off ten overs, so a draw was the likely result. There was a glimmer of a result at 89-4 off twenty, thanks to a couple of LBWs so plum both batters almost walked. Guy Ladenburg 2-13 and John Brehaut 2-12 picking up the wickets. But father and son Padhani, of The Stage, made the most of their time at the crease, adding just 42 runs in sixteen overs as the heat faded and the fielders' thoughts turned to a cold drink at the Bat & Ball.

It was a curate's egg of a cricket match.

Brigands 195-5 off 33 overs drew with The Stage 155-6 off 39 overs

Carrot cake, birthday celebrations, ice lollies, DT recreates the new pub sign

Brigands win the toss, Brigands batters and a Northwood fifty

The ice cream man arrives, post-match drinks at the Bat & Ball