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The all-male All England team of 1772 comprised players from Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. The All England XI in 2022 is much more diverse, with a mix of ages and gender and travelling from all over the country, and representing cricketing institutions from the MCC and ECB to the Ruth Strauss Foundation and Wisden. The team, in alphabetical Surname order and from top left to right in the gallery above is: Elgan Alderman is a journalist for The Times where he writes about all sports. His cricket awakening started aged seven with the 2001 Ashes. He puts the W in ECB having played for Ponthir, Newport, Gwent, and Monmouth School. Jamie Cox is a former opening batsman cricketer, who played for Tasmania in Australia and for Somerset in England. From 1992, his first-class average was 50 or above in 8 consecutive seasons. Cox went on to be a commentator, journalist, and Australian cricket selector and now is the Head of Cricket for the MCC. Charlotte Edwards is a former captain of the England women's team. She was England's then youngest cricketer on her debut and broke a world scoring record before her 18th birthday. As captain, Lottie led England to Ashes wins and world titles in one-day and Twenty20 formats of the game. In an illustrious career, she was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year, Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and ECB Cricketer of the Year and appointed MBE and CBE for her services to cricket. Rob Franks is the first amputee cricketer in the UK to play cricket on a running blade, a former Dorset and Middlesex Disability County captain as well as gaining 12 caps for England. Rob plays and coaches at Parley cricket club and works as Community Officer for the Dorset cricket board. In 2019 he was awarded player of the match in a competition played at the iconic Wantage Road with figures of 3-33 in a winning cause. Lee Gray is a British Army veteran that has played for the Royal Engineers Cricket Club and the Royal Household CC. He set up Cricket for Heroes: Super Smash, a cricket tournament with the aim of bringing support to the Armed Forces and Service charities through cricket. David Henderson spent his teens watching Hadlee and Rice whilst working as a steward, ball boy, and groundsman at Trent Bridge. He played his league cricket at Portsmouth CC, has toured with the MCC, and now captains the Broadhalfpenny Brigands at the cradle of cricket. He is the Twelfth Man for the Anniversary game. Rory Kinnear is an actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Bill Tanner in the last four James Bond films as well as his roles in Ridley Road, Years and Years, and Black Mirror. On stage, he has won the Evening Standard’s Best Actor Award three times and an Oliver Award. A devoted Surrey fan, his tenure as captain of his school’s 3rd XI is still talked of with hushed reverence, in his house at least, whilst his hat-trick of golden ducks, achieved in his brief stint in the second XI, has never been, nor never shall be, mentioned again. Dru Patel started playing cricket after watching the 2005 Ashes series. He has played in the Bradford League, the Airedale & Wharfedale Cricket League, and a season in Australia for Waybacks CC. He has represented Heaven Help Us CC to raise money and awareness for charities like Barnardos and War Child. Dru is a top-order right-handed batter, a seam-up bowler, and an ECB Level 2 Coach. Yasin Patel is a top-order batter and wicket-keeper who has played the majority of his cricket in the Essex Premier League and has also represented MCC and played for the Bar of England and Wales in the last 3 World Cups. Yasin’s claim to fame is whilst training with Nasser Hussain when he was England Captain, he bowled him 3 balls in a row. Nasser was not happy. His cricketing idols include David Gower and Garfield Sobers (two Broadhalfpenny Down Patrons) for their grace and brilliance with the bat. Yasin does Sports Law and has represented famous cricketers in many cases that involve International Cricket from spot-fixing, match-fixing, doping, cheating, and more. There’s many a story he can give you! Chris Pratt plays for Hambledon, the Hampshire Hogs, and studies at Loughborough University. He played at Broadhalfpenny Down on New Year's Day and is a strong batter and great fielder. Suman Shrestha grew up playing cricket in Nepal, without access to proper facilities and coaches, where he learned the game from watching on television and playing in the streets. He came to the UK with his family when I was 17 and started playing in Division 8 of a local Nottinghamshire league. With sheer hard work and dedication, Suman’s cricket improved, and he now plays Premier League cricket as well as playing in managed to climb up the divisions and have been playing Premier League. He has played in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Hong Kong, as well as returning to Nepal to play domestic cricket. Chris Tremlett is a tall fast bowler who is a former English cricketer and Ashes winner. On the first day of the fourth Test, the Boxing Day Test held at the MCG, he took 4 for 26 as England skittled Australia out for 98 runs. In over 100 first-class matches he took more than 400 wickets, 5 of which were from his 12 Test Matches. Jim Wallace grew up in the 90s: Britpop. Blair. Batting collapses. Playing for the mighty Bakewell Cricket Club in his youth his left-arm wrist spin went the way of the yips and he had to re-invent himself as a man of the willow. These days he contravenes the Trade Descriptions Act by turning out occasionally for the Authors XI CC. He writes about cricket for The Guardian and Wisden Cricket Monthly.

Broadhalfpenny Down, the home of the Hambledon Club, and location of the inaugural First-Class match in June 1772, will welcome a number of cricketing stars this month as the famed ground hosts celebratory matches to mark the 250th anniversary of the first ever match. The first of these fixtures – a mixed match on Friday 24th June – will see a Hampshire All Star XI face an All England XI with a host of stars confirmed to feature. Charlotte Edwards joins Mark Nicholas and Chris Tremlett as confirming their participation in Friday’s 30-over charity match with Southern Vipers' Georgia Adams also to feature in the red-ball match. The All England XI also includes representatives from the MCC and England Disability Cricket, and well-known cricket writers and actors who will be playing in commemorative kit provided by The Barmy Army. Tickets for Friday’s match – which starts at 1:30pm – are available now and priced at £10 for Adults and Under 17s for free. All proceeds from the charity match go to support the work of the Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust. "Broadhalfpenny Down is steeped in cricketing history and this year’s anniversary is a significant one. I’m thrilled to be involved in the celebratory match and am excited to mark such a special occasion in the history of the game we all love. Hambledon is a beautiful setting in which to play and watch and I am looking forward to the celebrations of the historic match and famed ground continuing throughout the year." Charlotte Edwards, Southern Vipers Head Coach and former England captain To buy tickets click here

It’s goodnight John-boy as the Waltons star at Broadhalfpenny Down. A warm evening greeted our visitors from West Meon for the third T20 of the season. Brigands lost the toss and were asked to bat prompting skipper Northwood to ask the Walton father and son team to open the batting. After a slow start and some gentle persuasion from the boundary to ”run” the Walton boys found their form and the runs flowed. First to go was Walton Snr caught after scoring 25. Walton Jnr batted well before retiring on 24 leaving Henderson to hit a quick-fire 30 before a brisk 17 from the skipper saw the innings close on 172-8. The visitor’s innings never really got started. Wood dropped a caught and bowled off the very first ball but a Jay catch at the end of the over saw the visitors 0-1 after 1 over. Bring on younger Walton and with his first ball took a stunning one-handed caught and bowled. Follow that one Dad! Not to be outdone Wood took his own caught and bowled before Turner, Henderson, and Flewitt all picked up a wicket. It was the time for Walton Snr to turn his arm and after a very close stumping wasn’t given the batsman was clean bowled the next ball. With the game nearing a close Jay and Walton were distracted by their food being brought out from the pub to the boundary. They asked Turner to keep an eye on it for them which is like asking a dog to keep an eye on the match ball. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long as 2 run-outs from Henderson and Wood in the next over left Turner with one wicket to take which he did in the 16th overseeing West Meon all out for 74. Well done all on a good performance, especially the Walton twins!

Adam Jay & Guy Ladenburg 2022 marks the 250th Anniversary of the match that has a good claim to be the first recorded first-class game of cricket. The match was played at Broadhalfpenny Down in Hambledon in June 1772, between a Hambledon XI (as we claim in Hambledon) or a Hampshire XI (preferred by Wisden) and an England XI. In 1925, Winchester College acquired Broadhalfpenny Down, ‘the cradle of cricket’, a purchase which combined its concern for the legacy and future of the ground with its knack for shrewd purchases of agricultural land in Hampshire. Enthusiasts don’t have long to wait, then, until the next anniversary. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the game of cricket was invented in Hambledon or Hampshire, and cricketing historians claim to have unearthed the roots of the game in Kent, France, Flanders, Iceland, Punjab and the Middle East. Closer to home, the Royal Household budget of 1300 made provision for Prince Edward’s cricket costs, and in 1647 Winchester boys reported to have staged a game on St. Catherine’s Hill. In 1656 Thomas Ken, later the Bishop of Bath and Wells and one of the fathers of modern English hymnody, was sanctioned as a Winchester boy for ‘attempting to wield a cricket bat’, an indiscretion still common on Broadhalfpenny Down. Even if the claim to be the cradle of cricket is not without controversy, there is no doubt that it was at Hambledon that the game took a large stride in its evolution from rural curiosity to national obsession, and that Hambledon in effect governed the sport until the founding of the MCC in 1787. Cricket had been played on Broadhalfpenny Down since at least 1753. In 1769-70, the Hambledon Cricket Club was all but dissolved after a string of disappointing results, but recovered to become the foremost cricket club in England, beating an England XI on 29 occasions between 1772 and 1781, a feat perhaps more impressive than it sounds following England’s recent Ashes tour of Australia. Much of the history and character of the club and its players were preserved in “The Cricketers of My Time”, reminiscences of John Nyren, the son of Richard Nyren, landlord of The Bat and Ball pub and de facto Hambledon clubhouse. John Arlott described the book, not published until 1832, as “the finest study of cricket and cricketers ever written." The misty-eyed purist may be disappointed to note a mercenary strain in the game even then. The Club was a private club for noblemen and the gentry, who often acted as patrons to professional players. The matches were played for decent stakes, and crowds as large as twenty thousand would turn up from all over the South of England to enjoy a combination of the pleasures of spectacle, casino, pub, point-to-point and county show, washed down with Richard Nyren’s beer - “Ale that would flare like turpentine, genuine Boniface, that would put the souls of three butchers into one weaver.” The first match satisfying the later definition of a first-class match - a two-innings match played over three days – took place on Broadhalfpenny Down between 23rd and 25th June 1772, with £550 at stake. The Hambledon side, including the great Richard Nyren and Old John Small, won by 53 runs, notwithstanding the first recorded appearance at Hambledon of the great Lumpy Stevens playing for England. It was in the same fixture three years later at the Artillery Ground in Finsbury Square that Lumpy bowled three deliveries through Small’s wicket without dislodging his bail, leading to the introduction of the third stump. Following the establishment of the MCC, the isolated spot on the South Downs lost its lustre. Hambledon acquired a ground at Windmill Down, closer to the village, and the land returned to agriculture, through the Enclosure Act of 1857 and various changes of farmers’ hands. In 1908, a granite memorial was unveiled at a memorial match involving C B Fry, from the nearby naval training school TS Mercury, where he had recently taken charge. This was the first match at Broadhalfpenny Down for 116 years. That Winchester College now owns Broadhalfpenny Down, and that the cradle of cricket has been preserved, is largely thanks to Harry Waltham, master at Winchester for 30 years, housemaster of Chernocke House, president of Hampshire Cricket Club and the MCC, Chairman of test selectors in 1954, and author of “A History of Cricket” (1926) and the MCC Cricket Coaching Book (1952). He persuaded Winchester College to buy Broadhalfpenny Down in 1925, in order to ‘protect and preserve it’. The acquisition made sense, given that the College had owned the adjoining Park Farm since 1861. Waltham wrote that Broadhalfpenny Down “is back in turf again, safe and secure, we may hope for all time, in the pious keeping of Winchester College” although he also noted that “time has not dealt kindly with The Bat and Ball.” Where time has dealt unkindly with the pub, its fortunes have fared better under George Gale and now Fullers. Since 1961 the ground itself has been leased to the Broadhalfpenny Brigands, who play a busy fixture list including the Old Woks, this year on Sunday 5th June. The Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust was established in 2010 to protect and preserve the ground, and also offer opportunities to the wider community, including matches for youth, disability and visually impaired teams. The anniversary of the 1772 match is being celebrated all year in Hambledon and at Broadhalfpenny Down, starting with a match on what happily (climate change considerations aside) turned out to be the warmest New Year’s Day on record. Scorecard from the 1925 game that celebrated Winchester College's acquisition, and saviour of, Broadhalfpenny Down for the future benefit of all cricket lovers A game played in 1929, four years after Winchester College had been asked to acquire Broadhalfpenny Down and had made improvements to the wicket.

Jay turns from handyman to match-winner! On a bright and breezy day, the Brigands arrived to the sights and sounds of Adam Jay and Eddie undertaking repairs to the west end of the pavilion. Who thought Jay’s day could get any better? Brigands won the toss and opted to bat. The crowd were anticipating big things from Turner and Inglis but ended up disappointed as both fell after making a bright start. Wickets fell regularly with most batsmen getting a start but only Henderson on 27 making it out of the teens. With the score on 115-7 and it looking like Brigands wouldn’t make it to tea it was down to Mann and Wood to put on a quick fire 42 before Mann fell LBW to the finger of Tompkins. Wood added a further 25 with Bath before falling for 44. Only 3 more balls were faced before the Brigands innings ended on 183-9. The Lymington reply started slowly with 22 runs scored off the first 10 overs before the opener was given out LBW for the second time in his innings. Brigands were finding wickets hard to come by and it was another 10 overs before the next wicket fell at 55-2. At drinks the game looked to be going the way of Lymington as they needed 102 off 20 overs to win the game with 8 wickets remaining. Henderson decided to ring the changes in his bowling attack to try for the wickets. Wood picked up 2 in 2 balls before Turner(self-proclaimed best off-spinner in the club) picked up the 5th wicket. Was the tide turning? Runs were flowing and wickets were falling. 52 needed off 10 overs with 5 wickets left. Time to bring on Bath who delivered first ball followed by 2 more in a 3-11 spell. Gray picked up his second wicket to leave the score at 154-9. Time for Jay to step up with Lymington’s U13s at the crease. Jay only needed one swinging, seaming deliver to rattle the off-stump of the youngster and become the match-winner for Brigands. Jay promptly rubbed salt in the wound of the poor batter by telling him he isn’t even a proper bowler!! Brigands won by 29 runs.

A VIP package is now available for the 250th Anniversary weekend on 24th and 25th June. includes lunch and tea with the players. Email 250thfirstfirst@gmail.com to confirm. General admission tickets are available too for Friday and Saturday.

A wet evening on The Down greeted our visitors from Shedfield for the second T20 of the season. With the weather looking to disrupt the game it was decided to go with 16 overs per side rather than the expected 20. Brigands won the toss and decide to bat. The opening partnership of Inglis and Turner got off to a rapid start sending the opening over away for 18 runs before Turner fell in the second over. Gray and Peach quickly departed after a rain break before Henderson and Inglis rebuilt the innings before Henderson retired on 31. Inglis eventually retired on 30 before the Brigands innings closed on 117-6. A challenging total in the gloom which was helped by a first ball no-ball due to Brigands having too many fielders outside of the ring!! Progress was slow for the visitors and they never really got on top of the run rate other than scoring 21 off one Walton over. The game came down to the final 2 overs with the visitors needing 19 more runs but with some tight bowling and fielding they could only manage another 9 runs leaving them 109-5 at the end of the game. A quick retreat to the pub was enjoyed by all if nothing more than to get out of the rain.

This is an exciting summer on Broadhalfpenny Down as the ground commemorates 250 years since that defining match between the men of Hampshire and All England. In a humble echo, the Brigands’ fixture list reflects both our traditional opposition and a good sprinkling of other historic wandering teams, as well as the pleasing return of some mid-week evening games. There will be much that can be done by everyone to help to make the 24th and 25th June successful days, and I hope as many members as possible will be there to meet, host and watch a historic couple of cricket matches that we hope will support the Trust as well. The Brigands’ own season has begun in a lively and mostly successful manner on the field, albeit with much-needed rain making occasional unwelcome appearances, and the new electronic scoreboard is a real enhancement, provided and underwritten through the great generosity of a very small number of members. It would be very good indeed if further contributions to this were offered, please. Those who have enjoyed the experience of playing on the ‘refurbished’ square, heavily scarified and with its new topping from last September, all agree that the evidence so far is that it has been a success. A far better ‘carry’ and decent bounce, with still the odd surprise but an overall even and fair surface is going to prove well worth the effort. Harry and Rod deserve our thanks once more, and it looks superb as well. With the Covid pandemic hopefully in the rearview mirror now, it’s high time that we returned fully to normal. To that end, we will run our traditional Quiz Night on the 16th July and have a good Raffle running throughout most of the season. And then on 3rd September, the plan is to go on tour to Cornwall for a 3-match tour. Please do take part if you can, as Brigands tours are always memorable! The club is trying as hard as it can to make full use of all the means of communicating at its disposal. The Broadhalfpenny Down website is really excellent, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. Please do spread the word widely, and of course, it’s always good to welcome new members to the club. …And finally… Would anyone like to offer their services and serve on our committee? Please let me know if you’d like to. It’s a rewarding experience and fun, and we have a vacancy or two coming up. Good luck to everyone during the busy cricketing weeks ahead!

To celebrate 250 years since the original first class match at Broadhalfpenny Down, we have collaborated with South Coast designers and stationers Sukie to create a unique handkerchief that's the perfect gift for any cricket fan. Screen printed by hand on soft cotton, these handkerchiefs are supplied in biodegradable packaging and feature a design that features a handy guide to fielding positions and the unique ingredients that make Broadhalfpenny Down and Hambledon so special, including the vineyard, the pavilion and the Bat and Ball. A limited edition of 250 have been produced and they are available in the Broadhalfpenny Down shop now.

Only 8 individual cricketers have scored 1,000 first class runs by the end of May; the first was WG Grace in 1895 and the last was Graeme Hick in 1988. It's taken all of the Brigands, a new pitch, and the addition of a game on New Year's Day to stumble over a thousand runs in 2022. Seven matches have produced 1,021 runs, not once passing 200, and in comparison, Brigands scored 1,268 runs from their first seven matches last year. I Zingari made a rare appearance at Broadhalfpenny Down, wearing their "Out of darkness, through fire, into light" black, red, and gold blazers. Brigands were asked to bat first against a seam attack that bowled in the corridor and to their field of slips and gulleys. What they lacked in diversity was they made up for in accuracy. Runs were accumulated in ones and twos, and wickets fell every 5 or 6 overs. Only Ladenburg and Bath got on top of the bowling and when Bath was given out LBW off a thick edge, he was recalled by the I Zingari captain who promptly caught him at slip the very next ball. Only a 7th wicket partnership of 64 by Jay and Mann got Brigands to a competitive score of 152 all out with only 8 boundaries scored in the innings. More Brigands were runless than there were cakes; Brigands batters beating Mrs Bailey by 6 ducks to 5 flavours (the lovely tea won on every other measure). A tight new ball bowling spell gave Brigands some early hope; just 16 runs off the first 9 overs and the watching journalist and photographer from the Sunday Times saw that the game was afoot. I Zingari's number 3 survived a pivotal stumping appeal and went on to accelerate the run rate with only Sargant, bowling his best ever spell at Broadhalfpenny Down, keeping him in check. It was a run-a-ball target for the last 20 overs; Wood grabbed three whist Peach and Hands protected the boundaries. Mann was superb behind the stumps and only one bye was conceded in the innings. Every run mattered as the afternoon sun was replaced by an ominous black cloud and spots of rain. The I Zingari Promise includes the line "Keep your Temper – Keep your Wicket up" and their 7th wicket partnership of Loup and Hill did just that as they took the singles and hit the bad balls to take them into the last 2 overs with 13 to win. A last throw of the dice saw Ladenburg bowl the last over as I Zingari nudged over the line to claim the victory by 4 wickets.

Four is a magic number and the only number that has the same number of letters in it as the value of that number. This was the Brigand's fourth match of the season and we hosted Hampshire Seniors for their first visit to the cradle of cricket. The side featured four Daves and the Chairman’s welcome speech was truncated to just four minutes. Hampshire batted first and never got the better of the soft pitch, the attacking field (four slips, obviously) and it was only thanks to four drops that they managed to keep the (lovely new) scoreboard ticking. Ed Hands contributed the first wicket and the “bowl in the channel Dave” line, whilst David Hemsley and Mike Bath bowled 16 accurate overs that featured four maidens. The introduction of Dave Turner to the attack proved pivotal as the dangerous Geoff Beale holed out and sparked a middle-order collapse. Turner was on a hat trick for the second time in two games and had bagged four wickets in his first four overs. Magic. A lovely Flewitt tea preceded a blitz from the debutant David Mann and well-coached Adam Jay who set about the target of 154 with purpose. Jay in particular played like Ian Bell in his prime and both batters passed their fifties. That left Henderson and Wyld to nudge the Brigands over the line and a victory by 7 wickets. A total of 31 boundaries were hit (including a maximum from Peach that went out of the ground) and in a final mathematical nod to the day; runs off the bat were scored at exactly 4 runs an over.

In the last of his 6 part series, Stephen Saunders sheds light on Hambledon's link with china. The pinnacle of crested china is Goss. William H Goss opened his pottery factory in Stoke on Trent in 1858 and was joined by his son, Adolphus in 1883. It was he who recognised a market for cheap souvenirs as a result of the less wealthy travelling on the expanding rail services, especially to seaside resorts made popular by Queen Victoria. He then expanded the range to many towns and villages – including Hambledon, for which a crest was created. The products became very popular and it was inevitable that other potteries would start producing their own crested china souvenirs. Griffin China, distributed by Sanderson and Young, also created their own Hambledon crest but, as can be seen, it was highly influenced by the Goss crest. Wiltshaw & Robinson was one of the first to follow the trend, using their trademark Carlton, in 1903. However they designed their own “Hambledon crest” depicting St. Peter & St. Paul church, the old windmill and the Hampshire rose. This design was then copied by several other potteries: Arkinstall & Sons, trademark Arcadian; Charles Ford, Swan and Ford & Pointon, Coronet. In 1896 Adolphus Goss introduced a range of coloured models based on real life buildings, for example Shakespeare’s cottage. These again proved popular as souvenirs and encouraged him to widen the scope further to include further buildings and monuments. It was towards the end of this period that Goss produced “The Hambledon Stone”. It is a grey unglazed model standing 80mm high and does not carry a crest. It was probably produced in or shortly after 1921. The production of crested china came to an end following the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Goss trademark fell into disuse in 1938. Understandably crested china has become very collectable, especially the Goss items. An International Goss Collectors Club was founded in 1970. Subsequently, in 1975, Goss & Crested China Ltd was set up as specialists in heraldic porcelain, producing newsletters and answering questions on crested china; also trading. They are located in Rowlands Castle, Hampshire. The cricket related items are eagerly sought after by collectors of cricket memorabilia. There are cricket bats, caps and bags with various crests on but most significant are those items with the Goss or Griffin crests. These are few and far between and attract considerable sums. Some collect ors of cricket memorabilia are fooled by the crest, with the two old style bats. which is a publicity design for the Hambledon vineyard.

Free ticket for the 250th anniversary weekend celebrations with every purchase Personalised stones are now available to order to form an addition to the Monument to the Glory of Cricket at Broadhalfpenny Down. Only 100 stones are available, and they will be made of the same Cornish granite with a personalised etching of your choice. They will be installed after the end of the 2022 season to leave a lasting legacy and association with cricket. All proceeds from the sales of stones will go to funding the charitable work of Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust and to funding the development of junior cricket at Hambledon Cricket Club. Until June 17, every order will come with a free weekend ticket for the 250th anniversary weekend matches between Hampshire All Stars v All England, and the Broadhalfpenny Brigands v Hambledon. For more information, and to order click on the button below or visit the shop in the menu above.

Broadhalfpenny Down is playing host to a pair of charity matches – on Friday 24th & Saturday 25th June – to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the original First-Class match, played at Hambledon in 1772. Broadhalfpenny Down, the home of the Hambledon Club, was the location of the inaugural First-Class match in June 1772 between Hampshire and an All-England team and the famed ground will be hosting two celebratory matches this June to mark the 250th anniversary of that first-ever match. Tickets for these charity matches – with all proceeds going to support the work of the Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust – are on sale now and available to purchase below. The first match is to be played on Friday 24th June and will see a Hampshire All Star XI – including the likes of Mark Nicholas, Chris Tremlett and Sean Ervine – contest a 30-over match against an All England XI. The match starts at 1:30pm and will finish by 6pm. The following day (Saturday 25th June) will see a Hampshire/Southern Vipers women’s XI face an All England women’s XI – with the match again consisting of 30-overs per side and starting at 1:30pm. Tickets for Friday’s match – priced at £10 for Adults – also grant admission to Saturday’s match, while standalone tickets for Saturday’s match (£5) are also available. Under 17s go free to both matches and don’t require a ticket. The All England XI teams will be announced in the coming days and will include ex-England internationals and representatives from England Disability cricket through to deserving Club cricketers and actors that have appeared in the most English of all movies!

T20 comes to the Down In a change to the usual timed format, a sunny Thursday evening saw the first T20 of the season as Winchester College sent a team to play Brigands on a wicket freshly prepared by Harry Bates. Winchester batted first and were soon in trouble as Hay and Sargant both picked up a wicket in their first over. Some big hitting saw the score rise but wickets fell regularly with Henderson and Turner both claiming 2 catches each before Turner turned bowler and was on a hat-trick with only his 3rd ball. The Winchester innings finished on 123-9. Brigands started brightly with Preece and Blackburn adding 21 for the first wicket before Preece fell LBW. That brought Peach C to the wicket and the runs continued to flow and Blackburn (32) and Peach (33) both retired before Northwood and Peach J saw Brigands home with 4 overs to spare finishing on 128-2.

A glorious spring day at the Down with nature to the fore; the errant badger damaging the outfield was seen and chased across the road by the Ground Member before the start of play, whilst a pair of male Jays, Garrulus glandarius, the mature male in full plumage offering only a fleeting appearance and totally outshone by the juvenile looking confident and displaying with a flourish. Bacchus (who disappointingly did not produce the wine or grapes that their name would suggest they might) started poorly thanks, appropriately enough, to safe hands from Ed but despite several near misses during opening spells from Ed and Os moved steadily on to 40 for one. Good tight bowling from the Brigands chipped away and steadily reduced them to 72 for 6, but strong innings from James Danson of 44 enabled a declaration at 175 for nine wickets. Highlights included Hendo making a relatively straightforward catch more difficult, only taking it for the points, a maiden Brigands wicket for Jake Heslop, fittingly enough his victim being a turncoat Brigand and the Chairman whilst umpiring at the pavilion end showing athleticism of a man of far more tender years to avoid a hard hit straight drive. After a tea, Brigands started their response even more poorly than Bachus with Adam Jay failing to trouble anyone, let alone the scorers, and Ed and Hendo following swiftly leaving the Brigands staring down the barrel at 17 for 3. Cometh the hour, cometh the men; Northwood resplendent in new boots (with an unusual velcro cross strap, height of fashion, or a secret Malvolio emerging?) and Turner righting the ship with a splendid stand of 98 ensued with a mixture of delicate placement and bludgeoned power moved the game firmly back Brigands way. Both reached their fifties before falling leaving matters in the hands of Os and Zeb Jay, the latter producing some sparkling drives and looking as if he would be there to take the Brigands home but sadly it was not to be, departing for a well crafted 13 leaving the Brigands on 174 for 7 . This swiftly became 174 for 8, Neil, “not in it for the points this time” Wood departing caught behind first ball before the calm head of skipper Beardall saw the Brigands home Sons of Bacchus 175 for 9 declared (James Danson 44 no . Ed Hands 4 for 30) Brigands 176 for 8 (Northwood 57, Turner 59) Brigands won by 2 wickets. From top left; Jake on debut, Umpires Nick Harris and Bryan Burns, Man of the Match Dave Turner, the beautiful Bailey tea, Jay and Hands digging a hole, the partnership of Northwood and Turner, Turner out, Zeb Jay the magnificent, Neil Wood out first ball.

We are delighted to announce that the Barmy Army are supporting the 250th anniversary of first class cricket, and are busy promoting the game and the historic importance of Broadhalfpenny Down to their members. The Barmy Army is the official England Supporters Club, organise amazing travel experiences to follow England all over the world, and they are generously providing kit for the All England players on the anniversary weekend too. https://barmyarmy.com/

On a fresh yet sunny Easter Monday afternoon the Brigands opened the auspicious "250th season" against Nomads CC. Broadhalfpenny Down was resplendent in the spring sunshine, with the newly laid pitch beautifully presented by ground member Harry Bates and his assistants Nina and Rod. Eager to test the batting potential of the new pitch, Brigands skipper Dave Henderson elected to bat. Brigands openers Gerry Northwood (19) and Neil Wood (13) made a useful contribution to blunting the Nomads initial opening attack before Dave Turner (35) and Ed Hands (57) stepping up to the plate, took the Brigands score to 149 by the fall of the fifth (Hands) wicket. A score of 180 was surely on the cards, a sum which skipper Henderson would perhaps be comfortable with as a declaration total. Unfortunately, the Brigands engine stuttered and then stalled, with the next five wickets falling cheaply. Indeed, so cheaply that the Brigands were all out for 159 after 42 overs of play. Victims all to generally accurate Nomads bowling on a wicket that at least initially favoured the seamers. The standout bowling performance went to Page, with destructive figures of 5 for 42 off 10 overs. After a delicious and sumptuous tea, the Brigands set out with an asymmetric attack - Sam Sargant's pace from the copse end juxtaposed with the laser like off spin of Mike Bath (2 for 22) from the Mercury end. The first break through came to Bath when he removed Lascelles bowled (4) in the eighth over with the score on 25. First change Ed Hands (1-29), opened his account from the Mercury end with an explosive first over which nearly claimed the wicket of opener Kandampully (58no) and clean bowled Bilimoria (12) placing the visitors on 57 for 2 after 14 overs. At that point the game might have been evenly balanced, but Kandampully and his new partner Marshall (80) were having nothing of it. While Kamdampully anchored the innings, Marshall batted with increasing belligerence to close in on the total, with the pair achieving a partnership of 100 before Marshall fell LBW, in the closing stages, to Bath in his second spell. Result: Nomads (160 - 3) beat the Brigands (159 all out) by 7 wickets.

On only their second visit to Broadhalfpenny Down, their first being New Year's Day 1929, The Invalids brought down a spritely and well-tailored XI. Having inserted Brigands into bat, Ladenburg and Whittle succumbed to accurate bowling on a day that was difficult to score runs. A steady flow of wickets was slowed by Charlie Peach (26) and a few aggressive drives from Dave Turner, and a lovely last wicket stand of 20 from Neil Wood and Dave Hemsley. Tea featured sandwiches, posh crisp, amazing sponges, rocky road and almond biscuits. With only 141 runs to defend special measures were needed; bowling tactics were to lull the opposition into thinking they would get home easily and then surprise them with rippers. First over; a full toss was despatched for four, then the surprise long hop was despatched straight into the hands of the fielder behind square leg. Genius. Ed Hands bowled with menace up the hill (but with the wind) and catches were taken including Inglis and Northwood holding on at cover and extra cover respectively. The tactics continued; Ladenburg started with a lulling full toss and then got two in two balls cheered on by the locals. Hemsley was no-balled for a beamer and then again for a double-bouncing ball, followed by two snorters including the last wicket which saw off stump out cartwheeling out the ground. The Invalids had inexplicably collapsed to 59 all out leaving more time for photographs, drinks at The Bat and Ball, and a record evening of sales for the Broadhalfpenny Down merchandise shop.

Thank you to everyone that spent time at the ground getting Broadhalfpenny Down ready for the season. From gardening to pavilion painting and from erecting the scoreboard to installing the net, the Cradle of Cricket is now ready for a historic season ahead.