Bat & Ball
The very first First Class cricket match took place at Broadhalfpenny Down in 1772. The ground was home to the legendary Hambledon Club, the acknowledged authority on the Laws of Cricket. It is one of the most beautiful grounds in England and cricket, of all standards, is still played today.
This tells the stories of how the game of cricket we know today evolved, how laws such as the third stump, the width of the bat, and overarm bowling came to be, the characters who played the game both today and in the eighteenth century, as well as news about the current cricket being played at Broadhalfpenny Down.
Featuring Mike Beardhall & Gerry Northwood, produced by David Henderson.
Episodes
The Stone, the Navy and the Bat and Ball
Mike Beardall and Gerry Northwood uncover the Royal Navy origins behind Brigands Cricket and discuss how the club has developed its playing membership over the years.The importance of Broadhalfpenny Down and the Bat and Ball pub to the Brigands identity is revealed along with details of how cricket fans can gain immortality at the ground through an investment in a hefty slab of Cornish granite.
05/05/23•6m 12s
Colourful characters
Mike Beardall and Gerry Northwood return to explain how the Preservation Trust charity was established to protect the ground for the future. In doing so it ensures that the ground is available to a diverse range of cricketers, including women's, youth and disability cricket.They also pay tribute to the late and great Christopher Bazalgette and discuss the trials and tribulations of facing "The Gettes" above the eye line parabolic seamers.
28/04/23•7m 44s
It all began at Broadhalfpenny Down
Mike Beardall, Chairman of the Broadhalfpenny Down Trust charity and Gerry Northwood, Chairman of the Broadhalfpenny Brigands Cricket Club, discuss the improvements that have been made to the historic Broadhalfpenny Down cricket ground.The ground, next to The Bat & Ball pub, is known as the cradle of cricket, owing to its origins as the home of Hambledon Club in the 1780s, and where the laws that govern the modern game were written and trialled.The ground has come along way since being returned to cricket from a sheep field, with a dedicated ground maintenance team, a picturesque pavilion, an electronic scoreboard, and even a net to protect the 18th Century Bat and Ball Pub from the bigger and more frequent six hits that modern bats are capable of.
21/04/23•6m 11s
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