The Bramble Bank cricket match off the Isle of Wight. Picture by Christian Beasley.
VIDEO
THE WEIRDEST cricket match of the year was held at Bramble Bank sand bank off the Isle of Wight yesterday evening (Monday).
Competitors from the Island Sailing Club, Cowes, and the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble, staged their annual game, held as the bank was exposed by low tide.
Well-known yachtsman, Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed, non-stop around the world, was among those who took part.
Around 50 boats made their way to the bank to watch the match, but strong winds meant there was less sand exposed than in previous years.
Eight people and a dog on board a RIB also had to be towed back to Cowes by the Cowes RNLI lifeboat when their engine overheated as they were returning from the match.
The Bramble Bank competition is believed to have first been held in the early 1950s between the Island Sailing Club, with a team formed by legendary boat designer Uffa Fox, and a team from a hotel in Cowes.
The current format involving the Island Sailing Club and the Royal Southern dates back to the early 1970s.
Tradition dictates the clubs take turns to triumph and this year it was the turn of the Island Sailing Club.
Captain of the Island Sailing Club team, John Hounslow, said that competitors only managed to stay on the bank for half an hour and the windy conditions meant waves were lapping around their ankles.
He said: "It was wet and windy. You could feel the water sucking at your ankles. We only had a shallow area to play in."
Bramble Bank cricket match. Picture by Christian Beasley
Bramble Bank cricket match. Picture by Christian Beasley
Bramble Bank cricket match. Picture by Christian Beasley
Bramble Bank cricket match. Picture by Christian Beasley
Robin Knox-Johnston taking part in the Bramble Bank cricket match. Picture by Owen Buggy plugphotography.com