Ton Up - The Father and Daughter Combination Tearing up the Hampshire Cricket Record Books

If anyone did that at Hursley Park Ladies, they could be in for a long evening.

Despite thoughts now turning to the outdoor season after a long winter, Phil Green and his daughter Jemma have made history indoors by bringing up one of cricket’s least likely century stands.

The pair recently calculated that they have won over 100 indoor titles between them over the course of their careers.

While The Hawk can’t verify if this is an official world record, we’re fairly certain this Hampshire-based father-and-daughter combination has comfortably rewritten the history books.

Phil wasn’t just involved in the first-ever indoor competition in the country in 1977; he actually helped write the rules for what was then an entirely new format.

He also played in the inaugural match.

"It was a tie between Southampton Cavaliers and, ironically enough, Hursley Park," he tells The Hawk.

"With Southampton Cavaliers, we won the Division 1 title twice, playing primarily against Southern League sides, and the cup once.

"Back then it was known as the Farley’s Indoor League, while the cup was sponsored by Hammond’s Jewellers."

Phil would go on to win the league 15 times with Winchester between 1984 and 2002, alongside 13 cup victories.

Remarkably, Winchester completed the ‘double’ for ten consecutive seasons. The club also became national champions at Lord's in 1996, qualifying them for the European Indoor Championships in Vienna.

They won that too, defeating a former Czechoslovakia side in the final after overcoming France, Austria, and the club champions of the Netherlands en route.

"The Czech team was basically six ex-pat Sri Lankans," says Phil.

It's a measure of his passion for the indoor game that he helped it spread to Surrey as well.

"In 1982, I briefly moved to Farnham CC and was disappointed to find they didn’t play indoor cricket," he says. "I persuaded them to enter a team and we won the league there, before losing in the Surrey play-offs."

The family's incredible record didn't end there.

"Jemma used to love her winter evenings at Fleming Park with her grandparents, so she was brought up on indoor cricket from an early age - although back then she mostly enjoyed the amusement machines rather than the matches," Phil laughs.

She eventually took up the game herself just as the first women's tournaments were beginning.

The first indoor tournament was held at the Rose Bowl in 2003, which she won with Eastleigh & Otterbourne.

The league at Eastleigh (by then known as the South Hants Cricket League) started a women’s competition the following year, adding a cup tournament in 2006.

Eastleigh & Otterbourne won the inaugural league before Gemma moved the squad to Hursley Park, establishing a women’s section there.

Since then, Hursley Park have won every single year, with the exception of the 2020/21 season which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 167 women’s games at Eastleigh, Gemma has won 162, tied one, and lost just four. It's an astonishing record, but one which almost pales in comparison to the club's form in the indoor league at Dummer.

"They lost to the Army in one of the first games but didn’t lose again, claiming the title in its first year," says Phil.

"In fact, they didn’t lose another match at Dummer for 17 years, and have still only ever lost twice there."

'The Girls in Green' were crowned national champions in 2016 - the final year the ECB ran a national indoor competition for women.

The pair have even shared a sports hall in Hursley colours, with Phil keeping wicket for a side captained by his daughter in Division Three of the men's competition.

They've also regularly stood together as umpires.

Theirs is a staggering trophy haul, and one that is highly unlikely to be matched by any family combination.

Anywhere else in the cricketing world.

Becky Blake, the current captain of Hursley Park women's side will be part of the Hawk's first roundtable event on Thursday. For more details click here.