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250th Anniversary Celebrations Begin In Style With New Year’s Day Match
250th Anniversary Celebrations Begin In Style With New Year’s Day Match
Broadhalfpenny Down played host to a special match to begin celebrations to mark the 250th year of First Class cricket
First-Class cricket is celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2022 and New Year’s Day saw the Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust host a special cricket match to kick off a year of celebrations.
Broadhalfpenny Down, the home of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire, was the location of the inaugural First-Class cricket match in June 1772 between Hampshire and an All-England team. Now, 250 years on, celebrations have begun to mark a historic year.
And absolutely no time has been wasted with a 20 over match staged at Broadhalfpenny Down on New Year’s Day – which happened to be the warmest 1st January on record – between Broadhalfpenny Brigands and the Hampshire Huskies, an invitational team made up of local club cricketers.
The match – which was won by the Huskies – is just one of a number of initiatives and charitable events being hosted by the Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust and supported by Hampshire Cricket throughout 2022.
We have started the 250th year celebrations of cricket on Broadhalfpenny Down in style. We’d like to extend our thanks to Hampshire Cricket and our many other stakeholders for all their help in making our first event of this really special year for cricket such a success.
Michael Beardall, Chairman of Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust
It's only the third time that the ground has seen play on New Year's Day. In 1929 a charity cricket match was played between the Hampshire Eskimos and The Invalids Cricket Club, a club founded in 1919 for players wounded in WW1, while at the turn of the millennium an Adi Aymes Benefit Invitation XI faced a Hambledon XI.
2022 marks a special anniversary of a significant moment in the history of our game. We’re proud that such a moment took place in Hampshire and are delighted the year’s celebrations have begun in such memorable fashion. We look forward to continuing to support the Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust and celebrate the historic anniversary throughout the year.
David Mann, Hampshire Cricket and The Ageas Bowl Chief Executive
A full calendar of matches and events to mark First-Class cricket’s 250th anniversary at Broadhalfpenny Down is in the process of being confirmed, with more information set to be made available in the coming weeks.
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