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The Vagabonds are a cricket club based in Hampshire that, according to one of their principles, "arrange fixtures against known social sides and preferably against weaker opposition so that they may all enjoy good averages". But it was not going to be a good day for the batting averages on a damp day and a sticky wicket; only 2 of the Vagabonds passed 20. Sam Sargant bowled on or outside off stump and Ed Hands got bounce; he grabbed the first wicket, played on. 57-1 soon became 89-6. Neil Wood got the second wicket, with a catch off his own bowling, Mike ‘Blood’ Bath picked up 3 wickets in a marathon 11-over spell. Ladenburg looked the most dangerous and picked up 2 wickets, including a Neil Wood lookalike. Set 110 to win, Brigands started swiftly; the first wicket fell at 27 in the 6th over as Jay lobbed one back to the Vagabond spinner. Ladenburg chased dogs off the square and pulled and drove smartly to 41. It was left to Turner and Henderson to start their season as they finished the last one, with a 50-run partnership to win the match. A hat-tip to Harry, Nina, and Gerry for getting the ground ready and to Andy Reed and his family for setting a high bar for Match Management. Vagabonds 109 all out, Brigands 110-2 won by 8 wickets

The rain finally came before the penultimate game of the season against a select eleven from Hambledon, Bedales, Old Wykehamists, and guests. A tricky pitch to bat on, Sargant bowled well, and one of those days when the ball stuck in the fielder's hands; Turner in particular took a catch that would otherwise have been a certain six. This was Wood's sort of game; the ball was swinging, Ladenburg missed a straight one and before you knew it he had four wickets from three overs. Only Saben-Clare got stuck in to get the Jay XI up to 86 all out. A tricky opening spell saw Turner out LBW and Henderson having to ride some early luck before the spinners came on and the one-handed six came out. Curtis hit a quick 25 and also retired, but the Jay XI came back with three wickets in four overs. The experience of Mann (16 not out) and Wood (12 not out) saw Brigands home in time for a pub lunch at the Bat and Ball. Brigands 89-6 beat Jay XI 86 all out

We have lovely new stumps at Broadhalfpenny Down, expertly made by Sticky Wicket and generously donated by Lee Gray. They are Broadhalfpenny green in colour, feature the Cradle of Cricket social media handle and the Classic fm logo in recognition of their support. The set includes an off, a leg, and a middle stump at either end. The addition of a middle stump was ratified in the laws at Broadhalfpenny Down in the Eighteenth Century.

As we approach Coronation Weekend, and look forward to welcoming Sons of Bacchus on Sunday 7th, a reminder that His Majesty has also visited our historic cricket ground. It was December 2006 when out of the blue a phone call from Special Branch sent shivers down the spine of our then, Secretary, now President, Bryan Burns. It turned out that a helicopter pad on firm ground was required for a royal visit to the Meon Valley and would Broadhalfpenny be available to park the aircraft for a couple of hours and for the departure of the then Prince of Wales. On the day Bryan and his wife Pam, together with the family Jack Russell, Haggis, opened up the ground and pavilion, put the kettle on for a brew for the aircrew once the helicopter had delivered HRH to his venue and landed on the Down. A couple of hours later HRH arrived with the Lord Lieutenant and recognised Bryan who had served with him in the Royal Navy. A brief chat and a pat on the head for Haggis (the King has his own Jack Russells) and the flight was away in a cloud of leaves. After the pat on the head, Haggis thereafter, answered only to Sir Haggis but he lived to the ripe old age of 16 after his royal preferment.

A summary of this year's Annual General Meeting held at Broadhalfpenny Down. Item 5; Appointments The Royal Navy saying of “the Captain is the Ship and the Ship is the Captain” was used to thank Nick Harris for his 10 years plus service as Club Chairman. New Committee is Gerry Northwood (Chairman), Richie Hay (Hon Secretary), Neil Wood (Hon Treasurer), Harry Bates (Ground Member), Guy Ladenburg (Hon Fixture Secretary), and David Henderson (Ex-Officio). Review of the Club and its relationship with the Charitable Trust to be carried out by Adam Jay during the course of 2022. Item 6; Fixtures The Royal Household is keen to invite the Club to Windsor to play a match next season. Fixtures are largely in place for 2023. A tour is being investigated. Item 7; Ground Chris Westbrook (ECB Pitch Advisor Hampshire) visited Broadhalfpenny Down in early April when he considered the condition of the square (post-renovation) and the outfield to be excellent. He advised that the height of the grass should be slightly increased and accordingly adjusted the cutters on the mowers. The badger issue had been resolved by loud noise; a strategically placed radio with BBC Radio 1 blaring had been the solution. The Club had suffered vandalism to the nets and marquee; information has been passed to the police and the Trust had raised an insurance claim. Item 8; Treasurer There will be modest increases to the match fees and playing membership next year. Match fees rise to £14 per game for adults and £7 per game for others, Annual Subscriptions rise to £72 per year (£6 per month standing order). Opposition teams are charged £150 per game. Friends memberships are to be held at £15 per season. Item 9; Communications The end of the quarterly newsletter now that website is operational and popular; thanks to Clive Barnett for the sterling work over the years. An additional 7,000 people visited the website this year and more than 50,000 people engaged with content on our social media accounts. 85% of the traffic is from the UK, India is the largest overseas location of visitors, and the majority access the website via mobile phone. Popular days are Saturday (directions) and Monday (match reports). This year we announced new sponsorships with Land Rover, Yorkshire Tea, Sticky Wicket and the Barmy Army, and Fuller’s brewed a special 1772 beer. A merchandise shop launched. Item 10; Trust This has been a great season not just for the great commemorative matches (visually impaired cricket, women and girls cricket, Hambledon Thirds and Colts, a reenactment match, and a visit of the Commonwealth Games Queen’s baton and more) but the relationship with Hampshire CCC, Winchester College, and MCC has strengthened immeasurably. We continue to work hard at nurturing Fullers and other local businesses too. Looking for a new Events Manager, and plan to continue offering the ground as a wedding venue. The stones project is something to work on over the Winter. Priorities for the ground are water and roof. Mike Beardall is to step down as Chairman of the Trust at next year's AGM. Item 11 and 12; Secretary & Any Other Business The Club’s membership had grown by 10%. Nick Harris to be made a Life Vice President, for his service to the club, and Rod Price be made an Honorary Member of the Brigands, for his service to the club through his work at the ground. Running of the "Umpires Union" to Clive Barnett for next season. Ray Holyer is planning to run a Scorers allocation system in parallel with that of the Umpires. In 1992, when HMS Mercury closed, we became an independent Club. Since when we have had a few ups and downs, but 30 years on we are well and truly on the cricketing map and from our achievements this year there is growing confidence within the Club that bodes well for our future and that we are up for the challenges that lie ahead. Before and after the handing over of the Chairman role from Nick Harris to Gerry Northwood. The above is an abridged version of the minutes. The full approved minutes shall take precedence in the event of any inconsistency,

Written by Ivo Tennant and published in The Times 3rd January 2022; it's so good we decided to republish one year on John Small was one English cricketer who could bat. In the inaugural first-class match in 1772 he made the highest score, 78, through what the chroniclers of the time informed us was a classic technique which once enabled him to stay at the crease for three days. It did not go unremarked when the 250th anniversary celebrations of this fixture commenced on New Year’s Day that the entire England team nowadays struggle to survive for three sessions. The Hambledon men, regarded now as Hampshire, beat All-England by 53 runs. For 30 years until the aristocracy decided that London and Thomas Lord’s new ground was better suited as the epicentre of their gambling, drinking, dining and cricket, this little village near Portsmouth was where cricket was shaped to a form with which we are familiar today. A third stump was introduced and the width of the bat modified. The game “grew to man’s estate.” Broadhalfpenny Down, overlooked by the equally famous Bat and Ball public house, remains wonderfully unspoiled. The sweeping view across chalk fields towards Hambledon can barely have altered over the past 250 years. The cricketers who turned out to play at the weekend (fortunately for them it was the warmest New Year’s Day on record) respected tradition. The captains tossed a 1772 coin and everyone, including the umpires, was properly attired. This was the start of a number of celebratory events including a fixture between Hampshire and All-England starting on June 24, the date when play commenced in 1772. There is one slight snag: until the first-class fixture list appears it will not be possible for the organisers to know the availability of players. They are hopeful of attracting the old stars such as David Gower, not least as Hambledon Vineyard are in support, but fresh legs and imbibers are also needed. The prize for the winners in June will not quite compare with the 500 guineas which were on offer in 1772. No wonder Old John Small, as he was known, had the wherewithal to become an expert bat and ball maker. His greatest contribution to the game, according to The World of Cricket was “his development of the basic technique of straight bat-play as the only answer to the length-ball revolution of the bowler’s attack.” When he finally retired he sold the tools of his trade, and gave of his knowledge, to MCC. As well as the departure of the aristocracy, the decline of the Hambledon Club was hastened by the departure of cricketers to serve in the Napoleonic Wars. The Down was a sheep-growing area and for a while the ground reverted to that use. It is now the home of Brigands CC; Hambledon CC play at another venue close by. “They are our friends,” Mike Beardall, chairman of Broadhalfpenny Down’s preservation trust, said. Beardall climbed to the top of the monument opposite the Bat and Ball to announce the regulations of this match starting the 250th anniversary proceedings. It was between Brigands and Hampshire Huskies, a Twenty20 contest with a pink ball on an artificial pitch. At the conclusion, it was only to be expected that the pub would be drunk dry, as doubtless occurred in 1772 and apparently happened in a New Year’s Day fixture in 1929. This match was interrupted by the Hampshire Hunt traversing the pitch and was a cold and low-scoring affair. At the millennium another match commenced at the stroke of midnight. Car headlights were turned on to light up the ground, yet play had to be called off owing to bad light and did not resume until daybreak. On the first day of 2022 there was no hunt, rain or snow: only a few ramblers and the odd sightseer were photographed at the foot of the monument as Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, was last summer. The game, of course, has moved on since the heyday of the Hambledon men. Small, the esteemed craftsman, would not recognise the strength of bats or those who wield them in the 21st century. The Bat and Ball has been peppered so often that protective netting will be placed in front of it. And women play at Broadhalfpenny Down, only not this New Year’s Day. “We asked some to play but they said it would be too cold — and added, ‘You do know it’s after New Year’s Eve?’ ” Hampshire Huskies, who made 123 for seven, beat Brigands, 106 for five, by 17 runs. Huw Turbervill, the editor of The Cricketer, won the man-of-the-match award for taking two wickets and making an unbeaten 12 in a partnership of 22 with his son, Ben. Needless to say that the outfield was on the sluggish side: perhaps sheep still have their place in mid-winter. Would the same post-match ale be served in the Bat and Ball as in 1772? “I hope not,” Beardall said. Here, where the der-doings on this great ground had long been recorded, an orderly past was celebrated and happenings down under soon forgotten. After all, the participants could remind themselves, first-class cricket was played at Broadhalfpenny Down before the first penal colony in Australia had even been founded.

As a curtain raiser to the World Test Championship between India and Australia, Brigands took on the Old Boys of Winchester College on a scorching Sunday. Other than Adam Jay who turned up with one shoe, Brigands started well putting on 32 for the first wicket. Bowling line and length proved the right tactic as three wickets then fell in quick succession LBW and two clean bowled. Henderson (25) and Turner (15) got the score to 80 before more wickets fell requiring Guy Ladenburg (57) to dig deep with his first half-century of the season, with solid support from Blackburn and Wood. Brigands declared on 181 but lost the initiative after tea with a drop first ball of the innings and conceding boundaries, byes, and wides galore in the opening spell. The match had attracted a bumper crop of spectators, some local like Roy Newman and Pete Tomkins, some from as far away as Bristol and Lancashire; one observed "you need a miracle to win this" at 66-0 off 8 overs with the Maclay Brothers playing with freedom. Not quite a miracle, but Ali got a run out from mid-one then a wicket in his second over, and Beardall a wicket in his first; but Brigands were always behind with further drops in the field and the Old Wykehamists reached the target in the 29th over. Brigands 181-7 declared, lost by 4 wickets to Old Wykehamists 183-6 Photos by Friend of Broadhalfpenny Down, Simon Arnold, and Dave Henderson

Unlike in 1929, 2000, and 2022 ... there is no New Year's Day cricket at Broadhalfpenny Down in 2024 but we would like to wish all members and supporters a very Happy New Year full of friendly cricket and good cheer.

Commemorative postage stamps have long been used to celebrate sporting events, including cricket, to provide a unique visual narrative of historical moments. These miniature works of art have captured the essence of legendary players, iconic venues, and milestone events, including those at Broadhalfpenny Down, where the early laws and traditions of the sport took root. Stamps depicting The Bat and Ball and the impact of Richard Nyren were issued in 2008 and, before that, the cricketing heritage of Hambledon was recognised as part of the Centenary of County Cricket in 1973. One of the most notable instances of cricket on postage stamps is the 2005 Ashes series. England's gripping victory over Australia in that historic contest, marked by unforgettable performances and nail-biting moments, inspired a series of commemorative stamps. Mid-Eighteenth Century cricket being played (possibly at Broadhalfpenny Down) was featured on a postage stamp was issued in Tonga, together with an image of Fuller Pilch, who in 1827 was in  great demand playing in the England games against Sussex and amassing runs with his inventive "Pilcher's Poke" shot. Sir Garfield Sober's, a Broadhalfpenny Down patron, has featured on stamps in Barbados whilst mint 1973 3p WG Grace stamps with a "missing Queen's head due to a printing error" can fetch more than £5,000 each. Hambledon was featured in Australian-issued first-day covers for its Bicentenary celebration stamps too. Cricket postage stamps serve as time capsules, encapsulating the sport's journey through iconic moments and hallowed grounds, from the gripping Ashes battles to the roots of cricket in Hambledon, ensuring that these tales are preserved for generations to come.

There are lots of jobs to do in order to get Broadhalfpenny Down ready for the season. Volunteers are needed to help prepare the ground on Saturday 6th April at 10am. Please liaise with Gerry Northwood if you can lend a hand. The Marquee will be erected on Sunday 12th May, meet at 10am, followed by a season full of cricket and a summer full of sunshine. The ground will be closed on Saturday 14th September followed by an end of season barbecue. The Annual Dinner at The Bat and Ball on Saturday 5th October, meeting at 6.30pm, and the Annual General Meeting on Sunday 6th October 2024. The Club only works if everyone pitches in and does some of the important work to set up, maintain, and close down the ground, and many hands make light work.

Scottish explorer Susan Calman visited Broadhalfpenny Down as part of her Grand Days Out series on Channel 5. She was given a quick history of the ground before playing a few shots on the outfield with some of the Hambledon Under 14 girls team. At the time of writing, the show (Series 6, Episode 2) is available to watch on the My5 app.

The last match of the season ended, fittingly, in a last-over finish. After the traditional Chairman's welcome, Brigands batted first with debutant Chris Russell stroking an elegant 40 supported by Wood with 13. Batting wasn't easy as Cornwall bowled very straight (no wides in the innings!) and one of the Brigands Umpires was Cornish! The Jays were in next and Father and Son put on 13 more for the third wicket before Henderson hit a quick 50; with big boundaries there were 4 all-run fours. Woolvine, with pad rash having got padded up in the first over, played like Botham-of-old and hit the best shot of the day using his feet to smote one down to long on. The innings ended on 187 when Harry Bates hit the ball straight to cover, ran, and got run-out. Richie Hay opened the bowling in his lucky-walking-boots and only got hit for one scoring shot in his first 24 balls; the first three wickets came from other sources as Woolvine and Henderson getting dismissals from full tosses. Two more debutants shone; Rob (with gloves) and Harry Walton (with pace). Zeb Jay took a smart catch, his Dad picked up three more as the Brigands lived up to their claim to be "the best fielding side in Hampshire". There were three wicket-maidens and at 50-5 the chase looked unlikely, but some lofted drives and paddles to leg from the Cornwall skipper saw them get back in contention needing 36 off the last 6 overs with 3 wickets in hand. More wickets fell in the chase so it was down to Adam Jay to bowl the last over of the season down the hill and needing just one wicket, with men all around the bat and a Hambledon sunset to the West.

A heartfelt thank-you to the ground team that put up the marquee in the sweltering heat in the morning, and to Andy Reed for scoring, Clive Barnett for Umpiring, and Graham Inglis for tea and Match Management; it’s acts of volunteering like this that make cricket clubs operate successfully. At the other end of the scale, a no-show meant a last-minute scramble for an eleventh player Leon Gray which meant that the Brigands team fielded two married gay men for the first time; fitting, at the end of Pride month. Brigands were in a benevolent mood, giving Hambledon early runs as they raced to a 50-run opening stand in only the 7th over with misfields and boundaries galore. The spin of Bath and Ali slowed things down, the bounce was hard to play, and wickets began to fall with good catches behind the wicket and on the boundary. Tom Ladenburg bowled 3 tight overs as Henderson rotated bowlers to support Bath in particular, who bagged another stunning 6 wicket haul. Hambledon all out for 185 and Brigand’s chase faltered as Guy Ladernburg was caught behind and was later seen walking around the boundary seeking advice from his son. Jay (13) and Henderson (38) built a partnership but Brigands fell from 57-2 to 58-6 in the blink of an eye with ducks to slip catches for Northwood, Ali and Bath. Lee Gray hit 36 at the end as Hambledon opened up the bowling, but there was no way back from the middle-order collapse and an easy victory for the neighbours by 70 runs.

Since becoming Chairman of the Broadhalfpenny Brigands, Gerry Northwood had sold more raffle tickets than scored runs so it was pleasing he enjoyed the pace bowling of the University of St Andrews alumni to reach his first half-century of the season; he had to work hard on a slow outfield that saw him scamper two all-run fours. Waktare (22) played fluently but was run out at the non-striker's end by a superb pick-up and throw. The injured Ali (21) was promoted to three and scored elegantly before he, Morris, Henderson Junior, and Turner fell in quick succession. Hands swept his first boundary into The Monument and Henderson (28*) played hit and run at the end to declare on 175-6 after 40 overs. Wood got a wicket with his first ball and Hands bagged a caught and bowled off an early bouncer; game on. The Seagullians attacked anything short, but one cut shot too many and the dangerous Baird hit the ball straight to Hands at point. The new batsmen lofted his first shot over the head of Turner at short mid-off who turned, chased, and held onto a fine catch above his head in a show of athleticism suited more to the Wimbledon men’s final at Wimbledon than at Broadhalfpenny Down. With 75 needed from 17 overs and 5 wickets in hand, the match turned on an arm ball from Ali that went through the defence of Kneale. Beardall utilised the strong wind and picked up a wicket with excellent flight, and with 30 or so still to get the Brigands fielders got excitable at the arrival of a number 10 with a top-of-the-range unblemished Keeley bat. Dougie Henderson wickets are as hard to come by as Taylor Swift tickets but he was inducted into the all-rounders club thanks to a long-hop that was despatched to Ed Hands who made a full-length forward diving catch on the Hambledon boundary to end the match. Brigands 175-6 declared beat Old Seagullians 142 all out, by 33 runs. Northwood 63*, Henderson 28*; Wood 3-43, Hands 3-23. Ali 2-17.

At Hambledon, upon this spot, high up on Hampshire’s chalk, A million, trillion years ago, the dinosaurs did walk. The great Gattingosauruses – short-legged with thick necks That fearsome giant carnivore, Bothamosaurus Rex. Across this very turf they strode – one short and fat, one tall – And came across an ancient pub they call the Bat and Ball. Declared Gattingosaurus – ‘There’s a field and a pub, It’s the Ice Age and it’s raining – we should start a cricket club’ So it all began at Hambledon, a billion years ago – Brian Johnston saw it, and Brian ought to know. Bothamosaurus Rex then found a Pterodactyl’s egg, And rubbed it on his scaly tail, so it would swing to leg. He went and pulled three trees up from a nearby Hampshire thicket And cried ‘Look Gatt – the wheel’ Gatt said ‘Rubbish that’s a wicket’ And then Gattingosaurus found a club of slate so vast, So long and wide from side to side no ball could get past. Bothamosaurus Rex then took the obvious revenge, And made the wickets bigger – which is how we get Stonehenge. Yes it all took place at Hambledon, as the world began to wake, And Brian Johnston watched while eating prehistoric cake. They batted through the Stone Age, the score became colossal Boycottodon was in so long he turned into a fossil. They said ‘If only we had Hickthyosaurus in the side, But he hasn’t been here long enough, and isn’t qualified’ Eventually the dinosaurs of Hambledon got sent A letter postmarked London (which was forwarded from Kent) ‘The Mammoth Cricket Club (that is the MCC to you) Is happy to inform you that your membership’s come through.’ And so the dinosaurs marched off to London in their hordes They’re not extinct at all – they’re alive and well at Lord’s. They sleep in the pavilion, dreaming Neolithic dreams And ev’ry now and then wake up and pick the England team. But it all began at Hambledon – it did – I do declare – Brian Johnston told me, and knows, ‘cos he was there.

The Brigands have had a tradition of fathers and sons playing for the Club since its inception in 1959, and that continues to this day. But three generations on the Down together is probably a record. Well, not all playing, as Bryan Burns, our senior club umpire, was standing in the match against the Worcestershire Police on 1st September 2024, 55 years after he played his first Brigands match. Burns was a regular player, opening the bowling from the “bottom” end, touring to Devon and Hereford until he hung up his boots after a final match in 2004. Then Umpiring for the Southern League, Royal Navy and Visually Impaired cricket, coaching juniors at Hampshire County Cricket Club, and Vice- Chairman of the charity at Broadhalfpenny Down. Up from Devon for the weekend were his son Andrew and grandson Samuel. Andrew first played Brigands cricket in the 1980s and he was also a regular and prolific run scorer, both at Broadhalfpenny Down and on the Tours to Devon and Hereford. His return to the Down after many years showed he is still nimble in the field and handy with bat. Andrew has resurrected his cricket playing career recently with occasional matches for his home club Yelverton Bohemians and the Royal Navy Legends team. The cricket gene has passed down to Samuel and this was his first experience of playing the Down since some Kwik-kricket on the outfield aged 4. At 17 he plays for Plymouth CC at the Brigands old Devon tour venue of Mount Wise. But his 6 overs from the bottom end, following in his grandfather’s footsteps, were notable only for Brigands fielders failing to take two catches off his bowling! He showed them how to do it with a great catch himself. However, this was just a warm up for, as a member of the Devon U18 team, he was in Leicester on Sunday 8th for the finals of the national county U18 T20 championships. Beating both Oxfordshire and Berkshire on the day, Devon were crowned national county champions. And yes, they are on the Father Time wall at Lord’s.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue as Brigands welcomed Stragglers of Asia to the Down in their 99th year as a travelling side. This was a game of 4 quarters as the afternoon unfolded where both teams had their moments. The visitors won the toss and put the home side into bat. New skipper Ladenburg sent in Whittle and Turner to get the innings off to a quick start but the instructions were misunderstood as Turner fell in the 4th over with the score on 5. Whittle was joined by Jay but scoring was hard with tidy bowling and interesting field positions. Jay followed back to the pavilion with 25 on the board setting the scene for skipper Ladenburg to take centre stage. After 20 overs Brigands were 52-2 meaning the visitors took the first quarter. The second quarter belonged to Brigands and their skipper who hit a very stylish ton with some exquisite shots and thumping boundaries. The skipper lost partners on the way as Whittle fell after scoring 18 in 28 overs and was followed by Blackburn(5), Wyld(6) and Peach(8). As the skipper retired on 103 Ali was joined at the wicket by Hands with 3 overs remaining. Hands quickly departed leaving Ali and Wood to add 25 runs in the final 11 balls meaning Brigands scored 152-6 in the second set of 20 overs meaning the visitors had to chase 204 to win the game. As the third quarter began Brigands looked for early wickets but Wood and Hands both struggled for line and length enabling the opening batsmen scored runs too easily. The skipper turned to himself and Ali to bowl some spin but the third quarter belonged to the visitors having scored 100-1 after 19 overs. As the final 20 overs (and 4th quarter) commenced Brigands needed wickets. Ladenburg picked up his second wicket with a ball that failed to get over ankle height as runs became hard to come by. Ali picked up the third wicket to fall with a catch behind by Peach who had taken over the gloves at tea. A fourth wicket followed as Ali switched to pace and clipped the top the of off stump with his first delivery. With 4 overs left Brigands needed 6 wickets and the visitors needed 32 runs but Turner quickly picked up the 5th wicket as Brigands smelled blood and an unlikely victory. Stearn came onto bowl and picked up the 6th wicket. 2 overs left and 4 wickets needed. The skipper again turned to himself but could only concede a single. One over for Ali to take 4 wickets but it was a maiden as the Stragglers held on for a draw. Brigands had taken the final quarter seeing the opposition at 77-5 but overall the match was drawn. Excellent effort from all concerned.

In 1908, following the erection of the Monument to the Glory of Cricket, W R Weir published The Cradle of Cricket; a Hambledon Souvenir. It tells the stories of the Hambledon Club greats including William Bedlam ("Silver Billie") who played in all great matches over 35 years. We particularly enjoyed the description of the best fielder, Edward Aburrow, who was nick-named "Curry" because of his fiery disposition, but beloved by all!

One of our aims at Broadhalfpenny Down is to bring the story of cricket to new audiences, and we are delighted to announce that LEGO has agreed to create their first-ever cricket set based on the ground at Broadhalfpenny Down. The multi-year licensing deal was orchestrated between the Broadhalfpenny Brigands Committee and Lego spokesperson Meget Godtroende. The team at LEGO, based in Denmark, admitted they had yet to watch a cricket match in person, but the photographs and videos of Broadhalfpenny Down matched exactly what they were looking for, and they were hoping the cricket set would inspire kids of all ages and abilities to be more active. Two Broadhalfpenny Brigands players, and One Umpire, will be chosen as models (nominations welcome by email to gerry.northwood@mail.com ) with final designs agreed upon before the end of May. Hopefully, production will begin soon after, and sets will be available to buy in time for Christmas 2025.

A band of volunteers turned up on "Ground Day" to help prepare Broadhalfpenny Down for the cricket season ahead. Hedgerows were cleared, sight screens made up, rope laid, covers covered, clocks fixed, dressing rooms painted, squares sprinkled, and pitches rolled. Gery Northwood, the Broadhalfpenny Brigands Chairman, was in attendance and thanked everyone for their effort and good spirits; "the ground is looking splendid" he said. A special thank you to Mark, Peter, Paul, and the brilliant Charlotte for all the hard work over the winter, and Nigel for the extra rolling.