Book excerpt: Broadhalfpenny Down is the Mecca of cricket. The Bat and Ball Inn across the road is pavilion to the whole cricket world. This is the home of the legendary 18th-century Hambledon Club. Every cricketer wants to visit it because they know this is where cricket began. Only it didn't.That Broadhalfpenny Down is the birthplace of cricket is one of the most well-established myths in sporting history. Yet this ground still holds a unique place in the history of the game. It is where a simple country pastime evolved into a national sport; where the crude techniques of the first players evolved into subtler skills.Between the 1750s and late 1790s, Broadhalfpenny Down staged the biggest matches and fielded the most famous team, playing 'all' England 51 times and winning on 29 occasions - often in front of 20,000 spectators.Here for the first time since 1907 is a full account of the events of more than 200 years ago. Extensively researched and compiled, and updated for this 2015 ebook edition, its author Ashley Mote played competitive club cricket for more than 50 years. He is a non-playing member of numerous cricket clubs. A former journalist, scriptwriter, and businessman, he now writes non-fiction.