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The match on Bramble Bank is played once a year
in August, when enough of it appears during the spring tide. The
sandbar sits in the Solent, the strait that runs between the
Isle of Wight and England's South Coast.
The teams are formed by members of the Island Sailing Club in
Cowes and The Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble, who by
arrangement win in alternate years - in part because a rising
tide can suddenly stop play.
"How many other cricket matches do you play in the middle of
nowhere, in a place which doesn't exist a matter of moments
after the game?" said Tom Richardson, 73, one of the organizers,
when asked why the tradition has endured.
Organizers said the first match was played in the 1960s, but it
was not until 1986 that it became the regular event it is today
- with crowds of spectators in boats and even a small post box
erected to give the sandbank something of a village green feel.
Summing up the fixture's appeal, player Andrew Given, 53, said:
"It's quintessentially English and a little bit bonkers."
(Reporting by Hannah McKay; Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London;
editing by John Stonestreet)
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