About this episode

Alison Mitchell reports on the unique Bramble Bank Cricket Match held on a sandbank in the Solent.

Between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, when the tides are low enough and the days long enough, a sandbank emerges from the Solent. At some point each summer, in most summers since 1984, this exposed bank becomes the venue for an extraordinary event: a cricket match between two sailing club teams from opposite sides of the Solent. Test Match Special commentator Alison Mitchell joins the team setting off from Hamble, near Southampton, to witness this remarkable contest, which can only take place on a low-water spring tide. She talks to players including former England cricketer Norman Cowans and his teammate Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world Arriving at Bramble Bank by boat at dawn, she follows and commentates on the action as it unfolds, before departing as the tide returns and the pitch disappears beneath the water once again. Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol

People in this episode

Host: Alison Mitchell

Guests: Norman Cowans, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

Topics covered

• cricket
• sailing
• tides
• sports events
• Isle of Wight
• nature

Keywords

• Bramble Bank
• cricket match
• Alison Mitchell
• Norman Cowans
• Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
• Solent
• sailing clubs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Radio 4

Places: Isle of Wight, Hamble, Southampton, Bramble Bank

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