Bat and Ball, Hambledon

The Bat and Ball, Hambledon, sits on a junction between the villages of Hambledon and Clanfield, though is marginally closer to the latter. It is a wonderful location – though not actually in the village of Hambledon – and the pub, as well as serving excellent ale, is famous as being ‘the cradle of English cricket’. This is the place where the modern rules of the game were drawn up by Hambledon Cricket Club, which played on Broadhalfpenny Down, opposite the pub, in the 18th C. The captain of HCC was one Richard Nyren (1734-97), who was also landlord of the pub. ‘Tis said that the ‘formidable’ Hambledon team played All England elevens on 51 occasions, winning 29 of the matches. I wonder how they’d have got on against Australia. The last time I visited, it was still serving wonderful HSB – Horndean Special Bitter – from now defunct local brewers, Geo Gale & Co, but now produced by Fullers of Chiswick. There IS a God in Heaven.