Founded in 1750, Hambledon Cricket Club was once the most powerful club in the country and earned its reputation as the “cradle of cricket”.
The club now plays at the idyllic Ridge Meadow – its home since the 1780s – and fields three adult league teams on Saturdays. We play friendly matches on Sundays, and occasionally mid-week. We also have a thriving Youth section, with over 150 junior playing members.
We are always looking for keen players, so if you are interested please get in touch!
The Hambledon CC 2022 AGM takes place on Thursday 24 November at 7.30pm, at Hambledon village hall.
Any nominations for elected club positions should be submitted to the club secretary in advance.
Please could all club members make every effort to attend.
Indoor training starts on Sunday 16 January, at Crookhorn College, Stakes Hill Road, Waterlooville PO7 5UD.
New players are welcome!
Sundays on Jan 15 & 29, Feb 26, Mar 12 & 26
12.30pm to 2.00pm
Sundays on Jan 15 & 29, Feb 26, Mar 12 & 26
2.00pm to 3.30pm
Because of potential uncertainty about these net sessions with the Pandemic still around, there will be no scheme this year to pay in advance for all the sessions. The cost for youth coaching sessions will be £4 per session payable on the day. PLEASE BRING CASH. To allow us to plan sessions please let the Youth Co-ordinator, Theresa Pratt, know on [email protected] if you intend to come along to a session in the week before.
U11, U13, U15 - Please make sure you bring all of your cricket equipment to each session as per list: Bat, pads, gloves, box, helmet and correct sized cricket ball to bowl with. Whites are optional for indoor training. Please note trainers must have a non-marking sole and preferably not black.
U15s & Seniors (Men and Women) are training at the same time. However, U15 training will be undertaken separately. Those U15s who are seeking to play senior cricket this summer are welcome to join the seniors in the nets.
With their comprehensive win over Hartley Wintney on Saturday, with George Marshall recording an unbeaten 112 (his second century against them this season!), the 1st XI secured promotion for the second year in a row with two games in hand - and require only 3 points from their final 2 fixtures to claim the SPL Div 2 title. Well done to all!
Meanwhile, the 2nd XI failed to beat Compton and Chandlers Ford, slipping to 3rd in the league. However, it does not change what they need to do in their final match on Saturday: a win over promotion rivals Petersfield was going to be required anyway. The 2nds need to win on Saturday, and notch up 19 points (more or less a given for a win) to ensure promotion, and to finish above currently-4th-placed RAM.
Go Dons!
Hambledon’s South African overseas star Matt de Villiers yesterday cemented his place in the Southern Premier League record books by passing the season record of 1076 runs, which has stood for 17 years.
Last week’s century (Matt’s 5th of the season) took him past the 1,000 run mark, but left him 31 runs short of the record.
He passed the record in style yesterday with an unbeaten 84 against Andover, and now has 1,130 league runs at an average of 113. And with three matches still remaining, he will be hoping to extend this still further, leaving behind a record which may stand for a great many years to come...
Congratulations to Matt from all your fellow Dons!
Although it's Hambledon's overseas signing Matt De Villiers who is making the headlines (571 runs in 7 matches, averaging 114.2, with two centuries and a top score of 168), it's shaping up to be a great batting year across the board, both individually (four other players have already exceeded 300 runs) and as teams. Last week's 398 at Hartley Wintney was a massive total, whatever the size of the ground; but the 1st XI have yet to post under 250 when batting first, and the 2nd XI are also regularly posting extremely competitive scores. All of which has helped both teams maintain an unbeaten record and sit at the top of their respective leagues.
Before we even reach the mid-point of the season, seven Hambledon players have notched up 8 league centuries between them. Going back through the website records (which go back as far as 2009), the previous record was 2011, when 8 centuries were scored in the entire season...
Let's hope the Dons batters can continue the run of form and add many more centuries to the 2022 total!
