“The Cradle of Cricket”

It has been an amazing winter for the club, as the senior A and B teams, the U16s and the U13s all won their respective leagues in the Indoor League! To cap it off, the A team also won against the Mayor’s team on the presentation evening…

Hambledon A

The Hambledon A Team won the top Division of the Indoor League for the second year running, winning all their matches. They played an exhibition match at the Presentation Evening against the Mayor of Fareham’s Invitation Team in a thrilling 8-a-side match using the entire sports hall. Hambledon were looking the losers, until Ollie Bembridge scored 62 runs (including 6 sixes and 3 fours) as “Last man Standing” to clinch the win for Hambledon.

Hambledon B

The Hambledon B team won the Division 2 title of the Indoor League, having won the Division 3 title last year. They only lost one of their matches. So, next year, they will be playing Div 1 cricket alongside the Hambledon A Team – well done to all!

Hambledon C

The Hambledon C team finished comfortably mid table in Division 3 of the League.

Under 13

The Under 13 Jets team, made up of players from Years 6 and 7, had a busy and rewarding first season of indoor cricket. Managed by Zoe Mitchell, the boys and girls have learned how to play indoor cricket, they have worked together as a team brilliantly, and they won 2 of their matches, no mean feat for their first season. We look forward to seeing them all play again next winter season, when they will all be taller, bigger, stronger and more experienced. 16 boys and girls represented Hambledon in this team, and they did very well indeed in their first season.

The Under 13 Sharks team, made up of players from Years 7 and 8, won every single league match they played, and finished top of the Under 13 League. Steve Hayes managed this team. They also played an Exhibition Match against a team made up of the 6 best players in the Under 13s from the other teams, which they narrowly lost in the last over. 13 boys and girls played for this team, including a couple of the Jets, who played in a couple of key matches when several regular squad members were away and helped them win – all great cricket!

Additionally, Henry Hayes won the Under 13 trophy for “Best Batter”, with a total score of 221 runs in 9 matches at an average of 110.5, with two top scores of 44 not out. He was only out twice in the season, and to score this number of runs when a batter has to retire at 20 is a huge achievement – well done Henry, and also for captaining the side with great maturity as well.

Under 16

The Under 16 Sharks team was managed by Richard Poole and James Jay. They are the younger team at this age group, and they won 2 of their matches, and developed their skills in indoor cricket. 12 boys and girls represented this team, including a few of the Under 13s, playing up admirably with players 3 or 4 years senior to them. This squad have a bright future ahead when they play again next year.

The Under 16 Jets Team was the senior team at this age, and they were managed by Jamie Lewis. They won all their league matches and won the league. In a thrilling Exhibition match at the presentation Evening, they won an exciting last ball decider against 6 of the best players from the other teams. As they proceed into adult cricket, now they are over 16, they thoroughly deserve their success this winter.

And on top of all this, Elliot Lewis won the Under 16 trophy for “Best Batter”, with a total score of 257 runs in 7 matches at an average of 64.25, with two top scores of 50 and 51, both not out. Elliot was also the captain of the Jets, and he led by example all season – many congratulations to Elliot.

Well done to all the players, many thanks to parents for lifting the youngsters to and from the matches, and a special thanks to those parents who coached the teams, scored the matches, and generally supported the events – it wouldn’t work without all the wonderful people who “go the extra mile” for Hambledon Cricket Club.

The Hambledon CC Tour 2024 is going to go ahead (assuming it eventually stops raining!) and we are only a few short of the ideal number of 16/17 players.

As a reminder, the tour is planned for the end of July/first week in August, with fixtures already arranged for 29th, 30th, 31st July, 1st August. We need deposits to pay upfront for accommodation, match fees and ground hire, so any interest needs to be confirmed with a deposit into the club bank account. Even if you cannot pay immediately, please can you let Jamie know your intentions so he can get an idea of numbers.

The deposit is £50 into the club account below:

Account name: Hambledon Cricket Club
Account number: 00171487
Sort code: 30-99-20 (Lloyds Bank)
Reference: "Tour" + your name

A few players have mentioned attending part of the tour rather than the full four days. That is fine but please pay the deposit to confirm your place and then a reduced rate will be agreed depending on the number of days you are joining for. You also need to let Jamie know the days you are attending so that he can include you in the playing XI for those days.

Please get in touch with tour manager Jamie Lewis if you have any questions.

The online membership system is now starting its second season. The process is much the same as before, but will be simpler for those who registered last year...

To get started, go to the Membership page, where you will see a summary of the 2024 subscription rates, and click on the big “Add and manage membership(s)” button.

If you joined online last season, log in with your existing username and password. If you've forgotten your password, click on the Forgotten password? link.

If you are a new member, click on the Sign up now link and fill in the details.

Accounts on the website are for members aged 18 and over. For members under 18, a parent or guardian will need to create an account in order to register their child or children. Members up to the age of 21 may still be registered by a parent or guardian (this is required to take advantage of any multi-child discounts).

Once you are logged in, the Manage membership page will give you the option to add a membership for yourself (if you are a playing member), or to add children to your account – or both, if applicable. If you are simply registering for children, you only need to fill in the junior registration form. And if you registered children last year, they should be listed on the page with the option to add a subscription for the 2024 season. If you registered last year, most of the information will be prefilled for you.

Once you have filled in the information requested on whichever form you have chosen, you will have the option to add more memberships before paying; then click on the pay button. You can pay by credit or debit card, or by Apple Pay or Google Pay if your device allows. And once you’ve paid, you’ll receive an email confirming your payment and membership.

As always, if you run into any problems, please drop me a message and I’ll get you sorted...

The Hambledon Club is a private members’ dining club, revived in 1999 with the purpose of honouring the achievements of the Hambledon Club, 1750-1796. The club also supports cricket here at Hambledon Cricket Club, with prize draws raising money for the club’s youth cricket.

The club holds luncheon events twice a year at the Bat and Ball, at the start and end of each season, each event featuring a guest speaker.

The next luncheon will be held at the Bat and Ball on Saturday 23 March, where the guest speaker will be Annie Chave, Editor and a Director of County Cricket Matters, and vocal supporter of county cricket in general.

If you are interested in attending the luncheon and becoming a member, please see the club’s website for full details and booking information.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the club will be held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 1 February at the Bat and Ball, Broadhalfpenny Down.

The purpose of the meeting is to propose the appointment of three new Trustees to replace two trustees who wish to stand down, and to keep the total number up to the minimum number (4) required by the Club’s constitution.

The resolution is as follows:

To re-appoint the Chairman Mark Le Clercq; to remove current Trustees Jane Shinn and Tony Smith; and to appoint the Secretary Seb Duggan, the Honorary Treasurer Imogen Restell and committee member Jamie Lewis as Trustees.

The background to this is that, in order to secure the grant from Sport England for the newly re-laid wickets 10 years ago, Sport England required a charge over the Club’s freehold property and in order to achieve this it was necessary for the Club’s title to be registered at the Land Registry. For legal reasons the land had to be registered in the name of four Club’s Trustees. One has since died, and two of the three existing trustees, Jane Shinn and Tony Smith have asked to stand down. Therefore it is necessary to appoint new Trustees in whose name the land will be registered.

Please let me know if you are planning to attend, as we need to ensure we have the minimum quorum of 12 voting members as laid down in the club's constitution.

Seb Duggan
Secretary
25 Jan 2024